Scott Oranje, 52, of Mary Esther, Florida, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida announced, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Florida
Independent Pensacola coverage of the sentencing reports the same 12-year term in Pensacola federal court and the same underlying facts: law enforcement intercepted more than 300 grams of fentanyl during a controlled postal delivery before Oranje attempted to flee through a back patio.
Source: Pensacola News Week
How the parcel led to the arrest
Court documents reflect that on November 10, 2025, law enforcement officers intercepted a package addressed to Oranje's residence that contained over 300 grams of fentanyl, the Justice Department said in its earlier guilty-plea announcement, which the sentencing release repeats. Officers conducted a controlled delivery; Oranje took possession of the package and entered his condominium. When officers executed a search warrant and breached the door after he did not answer, he fled through the back patio with the fentanyl and was caught, the department said.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice — guilty plea announcement
A search of the residence located a digital scale, various narcotics paraphernalia, owe sheets documenting transaction records, and multiple firearms, according to the Justice Department. Oranje had previously been convicted of first-degree residential robbery and sentenced to state prison in California on or about July 30, 2018, and was therefore legally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a felon, the department said.
What officials said
"This career criminal possessed enough potential deadly doses of fentanyl to decimate the population of a mid-sized city," DEA Special Agent in Charge Daniel Escobar, Tampa Field Division, said in the Justice Department statement. U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo, Miami Division, said the service is committed to ensuring the mail system is not used to deliver fentanyl and other poisons into communities, and that the sentence should serve as a warning.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the United States Postal Inspection Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher C. Patterson and Thomas S.P. Geeker, according to the Justice Department. It is part of Operation Take Back America, the department said.