Harlem woman sentenced to prison for trafficking drugs on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

GREAT FALLS - A Harlem woman who trafficked fentanyl and methamphetamine on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was sentenced yesterday to 28 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Twila Marie Cochran, 49, pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Cochran has been trafficking controlled substances on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation since at least October 2022.

On April 6, 2023, she drove to St. Regis to pick up thousands of fentanyl pills and 12 ounces of methamphetamine to sell on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Her co-defendant put the drugs in her car, which she drove back to her home.

Prior to the drug run, Cochran bragged in text messages to her co-defendant about being able to hide the drugs in her home.

Law enforcement eventually recovered nearly 2,500 fentanyl pills associated with the April 2023 drug run hidden on Cochran's property. Between October 2022 until she was incarcerated, she continued to traffic meth and fentanyl to members of the Fort Belknap Indian Community.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda L. Myers prosecuted the case. The FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.

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