MISSOULA – A multijurisdictional operation launched in 2023 successfully shut down a drug smuggling ring that operated from the Netherlands and Mexico, and brought drugs into Arizona, Texas, Washington, and Montana.
In all, the operation saw the arrests and successful prosecution of 13 people and involved efforts from Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Running the drug ring was Gerad Punch, 41, a U.S. citizen living in the Netherlands. Punch worked with Bernard Cowley Glass, Jr., 39, from Phoenix, who helped funnel fentanyl from Mexico into Montana, Washington, and Texas.
Punch was sentenced in February 2026 to 20 years in prison; Glass was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison.
The final of the 13 defendants, Adam Jospeh Sarvis, 47, of Butte, was sentenced today to two years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, Smith said. Sarvis pleaded guilty in March 2026 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
Also sentenced to prison this year as part of the operation were:
- Carrie Jean Bishop, nine years
- Brooke Rose Louise Cadonia, nine years
- Freddie Lee Carter, 11 years and four months
- Spring Marie Davis, two years and eight months
- D’Andre Dontae Glass, four years
- Diana Michelle Karnes, eight years
- Dwayne Nyron Punch, 11 years and four months
- Sadie Cheryl Sawyer, four years
- Zane Nicholas Schafer, two years and eight months
- Shawn Michael Scholler, three years and 10 months
The government alleged in court documents that Punch began his push into Montana after he was introduced by one of his dealers in Washington to Brooke Cardonia. Cardonia was from Rocker and had dealer connections in western Montana through defendant Sadie Sawyer.
Punch began building his drug trafficking operation after a stint in prison in 2018. He had met an inmate there who connected Punch with a Phoenix-based supplier. That supplier obtained his drugs from Mexico, then provided the fentanyl to Punch and his brother Dwayne Nyron Punch, who also lived in Phoenix.
Investigators first picked up on Punch’s operation in October 2023 when they learned from a source that someone named “Jeremy Holbrook” was bringing large amounts of fentanyl pills into Butte. Through the course of the investigation, agents learned that Holbrook was Punch’s alias in Montana and that he had been shipping illegal drugs into the state since at least earlier that year.
The source in Butte told investigators that Punch’s shipments were often mailed to Montana and that she was expecting to receive a package in Helena. Investigators contacted the United States Postal Inspection Service, which began to investigate packages shipped from Punch to Montana. At the same time in Arizona, postal inspectors were looking into packages being mailed to Texas by Bernard Glass. Investigators quickly learned that Glass and Punch were partners in the same drug trafficking organization.
As the operation grew in Montana, Punch and Glass travelled regularly to the state to meet with connections, potential buyers, and dealers. Law enforcement began to track Punch’s movements between Phoenix and Montana and to follow those with whom he met. Investigators also dug into postal and financial records, tracking the number of packages Punch and his lieutenants were sending, and identifying and following the payment systems they used to fund and run the operation.
“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, IRS Criminal Investigation (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 fall of 2024, investigators had identified more than a dozen co-conspirators, mapped out the organization’s financial operation, and tracked the packages of illicit drugs Punch and others had mailed into Montana. Punch, who had returned to the Netherlands, was charged and arrested in March 2025 when he returned to the United States.
“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 with 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.”
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. “DOJ and its law enforcement partners are committed to the destruction of these networks and poisons they seek to bring to Montana,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Smith. “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.”
