Former Montgomery County, Pennsylvania deputy sheriff at center of opioid trafficking ring

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A former Montgomery County, Pennsylvania deputy sheriff is at the center of an opioid trafficking ring that prosecutors say killed five people in the United States.

U.S. Attorney William McSwain says David Landis and three Chinese nationals are charged with possessing and distributing highly potent fentanyl and several other opioids.

An indictment claims the drugs came from China and ended up in Chile, Spain, Senegal, Canada and 21 U.S. states.

The Chinese nationals allegedly marketed the drugs on Chinese websites.

McSwain says the opioids then went to Landis' storage facility for distribution.

Landis was not a deputy sheriff between April 2016 and March 2017, the time the alleged shipments happened.

He has pleaded guilty.

The Chinese nationals are fighting extradition.