ASHLAND — A Las Vegas man is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court here on Monday on charges stemming from an alleged operation in which he funneled tens of thousands of prescription pain pills from his home city into northeastern Kentucky via various shipping services.

Jarral D. Perkins, whose age is not listed in court documents, was indicted last month on charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to money-laundering. He could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

Additionally, the government is seeking a $1 million monetary judgment against Perkins, which prosecutors say represents the total he made from the alleged pill pipeline, along with the forfeiture of the $560,000 seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration during the investigation that led to the indictment.

The investigation is outlined in meticulous detail in a recently unsealed affidavit filed by C. Frank Hicks, special agent with the DEA’s Lexington Resident Office.

According to the eight-page document, the investigation began on June 14, after the DEA received information from the FIVCO Area Drug Enforcement (FADE) Task Force regarding an investigation detectives were conducting in the Olive Hill area.

FADE detectives stopped a vehicle driven by a man named Lewis Roseberry, who was found to be in possession of oxycodone tablets. Roseberry identified Brandon Logan of Olive Hill as the person who’d sold him the pills, the document states. Roseberry also told the detectives he’d purchased oxycodone from Logan “on a daily basis ... for some time.”

Based on that information, FADE Detective Bruce Palmer obtained a search warrant for Logan’s residence, which was executed on June 14. As the search was being conducted, detectives saw a man approach the door of the home, who was subsequently identified as Michael Logan.

Michael Logan “admitted he was there for the purpose of trafficking in oxycodone,” and, after being advised of his rights, agreed to speak to the detectives, according to Hicks. During the interview, about $3,000 cash was seized from Michael Logan.

Michael Logan proceeded to tell the detectives about his involvement in a large-scale pill-trafficking operation stretching from Las Vegas to Carter County. It began, he said, about two years earlier when he traveled to the Nevada city in search of pain pills.

While attempting to be admitted into a pain clinic, Michael Logan said he met a man known to him only as “Jim,” Hicks wrote.

“Logan went on to admit that, over the course of the past two years, he had received and distributed tens of thousands of oxycodone pills from ‘Jim,’” the affidavit states. He also provided the most recent address to which he was supposed to send the money he made from selling the pills back to “Jim.”

Hicks said he then contacted the Las Vegas DEA office to try to establish “Jim’s” true identity. An agent there, Shayne Skipworth, sent a photo of the person living at the address Logan had provided, but Logan said that person wasn’t “Jim.”

Skipworth then informed Hicks a man matching the physical description Logan had given of “Jim” was already under investigation by both the DEA and IRS offices in Las Vegas. Skipworth forwarded a driver’s license photo, and Logan positively identified the person in it — Perkins —  as the mysterious “Jim.”

Logan said he initially received packages of oxycodone from Perkins on weekly basis, and initial shipments contained 100 to 200 pills. However, he said the quantities quickly ramped up, eventually  reaching 1,000 pills a week.

Logan said the pills were typically shipped to him in a gift basket containing a large, outdoor-type candle that is often contained in a metal bucket. Inside the bucket, and inside the previously melted candle, a glass jar would be secreted in the center that contained the tablets, the affidavit states. Logan also explained he would use the same technique to ship money back to Perkins.

According to Logan, Perkins would use different shipping services to send the pills, including the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and DHL. The packages were sent to different locations and addressed to fictitious names.

Logan went on to explain that he was in possession of package he was preparing to send to Perkins. He opened it, and from it, the FADE detectives seized $34,960. Logan also said he’d just mailed another package to Perkins that contained $102,000.

Logan also said he was expecting a shipment of 5,000 30-milligram oxycodone tablets from Perkins in the next day or two, and that the package was to be delivered by mail to a hotel in Morehead. Utilizing a tracking number provided by Logan, Hicks was able to locate the package in Lexington. He said he contacted a postal inspector, who agreed to have the package held in Morehead for inspection.

On June 16, Hicks, the postal inspector, FADE detectives and Logan all met at the Morehead Post Office. Logan signed a consent form to search the package, which was opened and contained a large outdoor candle in a metal tub, just as Logan had described. Hicks removed the wax from the top of the candle to reveal a glass jar containing 4,696 pain pills.

Two days later, Hicks met with Logan at the Lexington DEA office to prepare a package for shipment to Perkins. The package was sent via UPS to an address Perkins had sent via text message to Logan’s cell phone that morning.

Skipworth and other Las Vegas DEA agents had formulated a plan to intercept the package, make a controlled delivery to the address provided by Perkins and to arrest Perkins, according to Hicks.

After the package was sent, Hicks said he recorded a phone call between Logan and Perkins, during which Logan told Perkins, “Got that out for you, should be around 103,” meaning $103,000, the affidavit states. Perkins replied, “Okay, buddy.”

Perkins was arrested June 20 in Las Vegas, according to court records.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.