Date: June 23, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Marquette, MI - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey announced that Kai Livingston Packer of Eugene, Oregon, was sentenced to 204 months in prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and the unlawful use of a means of identification.

"This case has lessons for two groups of people," said U.S. Attorney VerHey. "For people who use illegal drugs the lesson is that fentanyl has flooded the illegal drug market and is being added to just about everything your dealer sells. Even experienced drug users are fatally overdosing because they just don't know they are taking this lethal drug. Don't take that risk. The other lesson is for drug dealers: We know you are killing people by lacing your products with fentanyl. When we catch you -- and we will -- you will be shocked at how old you will be before you ever see the outside of a prison cell."

In February 2023, a young man in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan ingested pills he had ordered online and died of fentanyl poisoning. A review of that man's phone led investigators to Kai Packer. Kai Packer operated various online storefronts that sold drugs on the Snapchat and Telegram applications. He sold pills that he claimed were oxycodone or Adderall, but when undercover law enforcement officers ordered pills, the advertised oxycodone was actually fentanyl and the alleged Adderall was methamphetamine. To distance himself from the drug dealing, Packer accepted payment via CashApp using an alias, specifically, the name of a person whose identity had been stolen. Packer engaged in this activity from his home in Oregon as well as from a previous residence in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The scourge of fentanyl has plagued communities across Michigan and taken too many of our friends and neighbors too soon," said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. "HSI remains steadfast in our commitment to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations and hold offenders accountable under the law."

"Fentanyl continues to be the greatest drug threats facing our nation, claiming lives at an alarming rate. This sentence sends a clear message that those who profit from distributing this poison will be held responsible for the harm they cause." said Special Agent in Charge Joseph O. Dixon. "The DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue working tirelessly to remove fentanyl from our streets and protect American families from its deadly impact."

"The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office would like the community to know that we and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team (Tri-DENT) will follow these investigations wherever they may lead us," said Chippewa County Sheriff Mike Bitnar. "We also thank our federal law enforcement partners for their cooperation here and express our sincere condolences to the family of the victim."

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Michigan State Police, the Chippewa County (Michigan) Sheriff, the Tri-county Drug Enforcement Team (of the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan), the Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department, and the Clackamas County (Oregon) Sheriff.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.