Federal prosecutors in Kentucky say the leader of a drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to life in prison for distributing fentanyl that led to an overdose death.
According to the offices of the state's two U.S attorneys, it's the first life sentence given in federal court for a fentanyl-related overdose death in Kentucky.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug resembling heroin and is a growing scourge in a state struggling with drugs. Navarius Westberry was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of a Madison County man. Prosecutors say four others in Westberry's ring have pleaded guilty.
