Prosecutors: Man ran 2 drug labs that made fentanyl pills

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man was arrested on suspicion of running two illegal drug labs that used high-speed pill presses to create bulk amounts of tablets containing fentanyl and methamphetamine that were sold on the dark web, federal authorities said Monday.

Christopher Hampton, 36, was named in an 11-count indictment that charges him with various narcotics and weapons offenses that could result in a sentence of life in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

It wasn’t immediately known if Hampton has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Hampton, who was arrested Nov. 2, used the online moniker “Narco710” while frequenting at least nine marketplaces on the dark web where he and his co-conspirators sold nearly $2 million worth of illegal narcotics, according to the indictment.

Searches of drug labs in Inglewood and Compton turned up 450 pounds (204 kilograms) of suspected narcotics, weapons and six pill press machines capable of producing thousands of pills per hour, prosecutors said.

While searching Hampton’s residence, agents discovered more than 20,000 multi-colored pills containing fentanyl manufactured to resemble oxycodone pills, according to prosecutors.

Hampton, who is being held without bond, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in federal court.