A multi-agency operation that began in 2023 has taken down a drug smuggling ring tied to the Netherlands and Mexico that moved fentanyl into Montana, Arizona, Texas, and Washington.
The investigation, known as Operation Windmill, led to the arrest and conviction of 13 people, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith announced.
The final defendant, 47-year-old Adam Joseph Sarvis of Butte, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen to two years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Sarvis pleaded guilty in March 2026 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Gerad Punch, 41, a U.S. citizen based in the Netherlands, led the trafficking operation. Punch partnered with 39-year-old Bernard Cowley Glass Jr. of Phoenix to move Mexican-sourced fentanyl across state lines. Punch received a 20-year prison sentence in February 2026, while Glass was sentenced to 15 years last month.
Federal authorities detailed the sentences handed down to the other ten co-conspirators this year:
- Freddie Lee Carter: 11 years, four months
- Dwayne Nyron Punch: 11 years, four months
- Carrie Jean Bishop: nine years
- Brooke Rose Louise Cadonia: nine years
- Diana Michelle Karnes: eight years
- D’Andre Dontae Glass: four years
- Sadie Cheryl Sawyer: four years
- Shawn Michael Scholler: three years, 10 months
- Spring Marie Davis: two years, eight months
- Zane Nicholas Schafer: two years, eight months
Court filings show Punch began assembling the network after meeting an inmate during a 2018 prison term. That contact introduced Punch to a supplier in Phoenix who sourced narcotics directly from Mexico. Punch and his brother, Dwayne Punch, distributed the fentanyl from there.
Punch later expanded into Montana after a Washington dealer connected him with Brooke Cadonia of Rocker, who had ties to local distributors through Sadie Sawyer.
Investigators first detected the network in October 2023 when an informant reported that an individual using the alias “Jeremy Holbrook” was moving fentanyl pills into Butte. Agents identified Holbrook as Punch and discovered he had been mailing narcotics into Montana since early that year.
After the Butte informant alerted authorities to an incoming shipment bound for Helena, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched a probe into packages sent by Punch. Concurrently, postal inspectors in Arizona noticed suspicious shipments headed for Texas from Bernard Glass, revealing the broader interstate partnership.
As distribution expanded, Punch and Glass frequently traveled to Montana to coordinate with regional buyers and local dealers. Federal and state agents tracked travel between Phoenix and Montana, monitored associates, and audited postal and financial records to map out payment channels.
“IRS Criminal Investigation plays a critical role in disrupting and stopping the flow of money that is the lifeblood of criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking,” said Todd Wacaser, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Denver Field Office. “Working alongside our law enforcement partners, we hold drug traffickers accountable, protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system, and help keep our communities safe from the violence, addiction, and harm fueled by the illegal drug trade.”
By autumn 2024, law enforcement had documented the syndicate’s financial structure and linked postal shipments to more than a dozen co-conspirators. Punch returned to the Netherlands during the probe but was arrested upon re-entering the United States in March 2025.
“Operation Windmill is a strong example of how the Homeland Security Task Force model is designed to work: bringing federal, state, and local partners together across jurisdictions to identify, investigate, and dismantle criminal networks that threaten our communities,” said Resident Agent in Charge Joseph E. Montbriand of Homeland Security Investigations. “This case reflects the value of coordinated enforcement and intelligence-driven investigations, and we are proud of the work of our Special Agents, and all of our law enforcement partners who helped bring these defendants to justice.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Lowney and Zeno Baucus as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159, with investigative work conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
“DOJ and its law enforcement partners are committed to the destruction of these networks and poisons they seek to bring to Montana,” Smith said. “I want to commend the exemplary work of the HSTF, including agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation. I also applaud the exceptional work of the prosecution team led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Lowney and Zeno Baucus for the District of Montana. Our streets and our children are safer because of the HSTF’s efforts.”
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