Billings Man Sentenced After 6,000 Carfentanil Pills Found Inside Stuffed Animal

It started with a box that wouldn't fit in a mailbox.

On October 17, 2025, postal workers flagged a suspicious package addressed to a "George Pina" at a Lewis Avenue home in Billings. The day before, a carrier had tried to deliver it, but it was too large to leave. She continued her route, and minutes later, a man flagged her down and asked for it. She told him he'd have to go to the post office.

Police Find 6,000 Synthetic Fentanyl Pills in Stuffed Animal

The next day, he showed up at the post office using the name George Pina. He was told the package hadn't arrived yet, so he left his phone number and left.

That window was all investigators needed. They obtained a search warrant and opened the box, finding a stuffed animal hiding a bag of roughly 6,000 blue pills stamped "M 30." The pills weighed about 1.2 pounds in total. Lab testing confirmed they contained carfentanil, a synthetic opioid significantly more powerful than fentanyl.

Federal Agents Arrest Suspect at Billings Post Office

Agents called the number he'd left and told him his package was ready. He returned, picked it up, and walked outside, where he was arrested. His response to agents: "I knew you guys were here. I knew you guys were coming."

Montana Federal Court Sentences Timothy Christopher Payne

Timothy Christopher Payne, 39, pleaded guilty in February 2026 to attempted possession with intent to distribute and to using a phone to facilitate a drug felony. Judge Susan P. Watters sentenced him to 140 months in federal prison plus five years of supervised release on the first count, and 48 months on the second, both sentences running at the same time.

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The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and the Billings Police Department.