Daniel Taylor: Former West Texas professor turned drug kingpin gets 40 years jail for pushing 'pink flamingo' fentanyl, causing overdoses

Daniel Taylor, once a professor of supply chain management at Texas Tech University, has been handed a 40-year prison sentence for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl. The US Department of Justice announced the sentence on October 23, following Taylor's plea of guilty on July 1. Taylor was found guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess fentanyl, specifically the "pink flamingo" version, which caused several women to overdose.

The 51-year-old former assistant professor manufactured two fentanyl products, one white powder called "ghost" and the pink mixture containing fentanyl and bromazolam. He marketed his drug as if it were a regular product and showed a "shocking disregard for human life", according to US Attorney Ryan Raybould. Taylor targeted vulnerable women and enlisted some of them to help his drug supply chain.

Law enforcement agencies began investigating him in 2025 after observing a meeting in a convenience-store parking lot, where a passenger overdosed. Subsequent searches uncovered various drugs and equipment used to package them. Taylor supplied fentanyl for sex, and several women overdosed after consuming his products. He allegedly kept his associates in check by directing them to use encrypted messaging and deleting messages.

Taylor had a history of criminal activity, including a previous federal felony conviction and a court-martial for attempting to fake his own death.