Neosho woman indicted for fentanyl trafficking

A grand jury indictment of a Neosho woman on a fentanyl trafficking charge was unsealed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

An arraignment, scheduling conference and detention hearing are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in Springfield for Chrystal Dawn Fanning, 42.

Fanning also faces a drug trafficking charge in Newton County Circuit Court, with the charges stemming from a September 21 traffic stop by the Highway Patrol.

The details are provided in the federal detention motion:

On or about September 21, 2024, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle wherein the defendant was the passenger. 

Following a search of the vehicle, law enforcement located a large amount of suspected fentanyl pills, which were confirmed through analysis at the DEA Crime Laboratory to contain fentanyl and weighed approximately 636.3 grams. 

Following the traffic stop, in a post-Miranda interview, the defendant admitted to being involved in the distribution of fentanyl and had been so involved for a long time. She indicated that she was introduced to the fentanyl distribution world by her husband, who is in federal prison. 

She stated she and her husband would travel to Arizona to pick up fentanyl. The defendant indicated that she had made numerous trips, approximately 6-10, to Arizona to obtain fentanyl, sometimes obtaining 13,000 pills in Arizona. 

The defendant admitted to traveling to Fort Worth, Texas, to obtain the fentanyl pills seized from her during the traffic stop, admitting that she had purchased 6,000 pills while in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Finally, during the interview, the defendant admitted to using 9 to 10 fentanyl pills a day.