Denton undercover agents seize ‘almost enough pills to give everyone in the city one’

Two arrests have been made in a months-long undercover operation in Denton earlier this month.

Authorities recovered more than 120,000 pills valued at more than $1.5 million during a seizure carried out on Aug. 2 by Denton police and agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

A search warrant executed at a residence in the 3500 block of Mustang Drive and a storage facility in the 1200 block of Fort Worth Drive in Denton yielded a large cache of weapons, drugs and stolen goods, according to authorities.

“We got almost enough pills to give everybody in the city one,” said Bryan Cose, Denton police spokesman.

The investigation was originally triggered by a report that a freight company employee was stealing merchandise, Cose said.

When detectives began investigating they learned that one of the freight company’s employees, Fred Wagner, was stealing packages of bulk shipments of opiate-based prescription medications being sent to pharmaceutical distributors in the area.

Investigators conducted surveillance of Wagner’s residence in the 3500 block of Mustang Drive as well as a storage facility he frequented in the 1200 block of Fort Worth Drive and found evidence of the package thefts discarded by the suspect.

After purchasing illegal prescription medication from Wagner, investigators were able to obtain arrest warrants for Wagner and his live-in girlfriend, Alexa Neal, along with search warrants for the residence and storage units.

The operation recovered more than 120,000 pharmaceutical pills that included Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Morphine, Fentanyl and Dilaudid tabs, 14 firearms, six of them stolen, cash, and hundreds of items of stolen property. Stolen merchandise that was recovered included electronic items such as laptops, I-Pads, cell phones and tools, according to police.

Wagner is facing drug manufacturing and delivery charges as well as charges of weapons and theft of property valued at more than $300,000 with bonds totaling $520,000. Neal faces child endangerment and drug manufacturing and delivery charges with bonds totaling $175,000.