Manteca man sentenced to eight years for possession for sale of Ecstasy

A Manteca man was sentenced Friday to eight years and nine months in prison for possession with the intent to distribute MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy.

Catalin Kifan, 26, had pleaded guilty to the crime in August.

According to the plea agreement, on April 21, 2015, federal agents searched Kifan’s home in Manteca and found a variety of drugs, including 1.7 kilograms of cocaine, 608 grams of MDMA and lesser amounts of marijuana, bath salts, steroids, methamphetamine, adrenaline and prescription pills.

In March and April 2015, law enforcement seized two packages of MDMA destined for the Manteca residence, as well as one package of MDMA sent to his co-defendant’s home in Las Vegas. A search of the Las Vegas residence resulted in the seizure of additional quantities of drugs, including MDMA and steroids.

The case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Southern Nevada Heroin Task Force and the Manteca Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Khasigian prosecuted the case.

Co-defendant Jason Matecki, 42, pleaded guilty in April 2016 and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Manteca man sentenced to eight years for possession for sale of Ecstasy."