A 36-year-old Plano man known as “Truth” has been charged with federal drug trafficking violations after allegedly being found with two kilograms of raw powdered fentanyl, according to U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
Eric William Mather, or “Truth,” made his initial appearance in court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine Nowak on January 12, 2022. He was charged with multiple violations including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
Mather was identified by the North Texas OCDETF Strike Force 2 (SF2), with the assistance of the DEA Dallas Tactical Diversion Squad, as a fentanyl source back in September 2022. Mather was allegedly supplying both counterfeit pharmaceutical pills laced with fentanyl and raw powdered fentanyl.
Mather is being held responsible for multiple overdoses in North Texas. In what has been called an epidemic, rates of overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased nationwide by more than 56% from 2019 to 2020, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to deliver a fatal dose.
During Mather’s arrest, law enforcement allegedly seized over a kilogram of fentanyl-laced pills, two kilograms of raw powdered fentanyl, 30 firearms, a pill press, and luxury vehicles.
In November 2022, Mather was named in a fourth superseding indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury, according to the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Rattan will be prosecuting the case, and it is currently being investigated by the Dallas Police Department, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and IRS Criminal Investigations.
Fentanyl trafficking has become a major issue across the United States, including in Dallas, where local police seized 3,919 grams in 14 operations in the first 10 months of 2022.
Although the Dallas City Council has held meetings over the apparent spike in drug crimes and drug-related deaths, this has been to little effect. In December alone, the city saw 494 drug-related crimes.