The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that an illegal immigrant from Mexico admitted to bringing heroin and fentanyl into Utah for profit and has been sentenced to five years in prison and four years of supervised release.
Under the U.S. federal system, supervised release refers to a period of community supervision that follows a criminal’s completion of the full term of imprisonment imposed by a judge. Unlike parole, it cannot be used to offset an unserved sentence but is an additional security measure or protective restraint imposed at the time of sentencing, and violating its terms could result in re-incarceration.
The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball, who handed down the sentence to 25-year-old Miguel Mario Soto De Santiago.
De Santiago, residing illegally in Bluffdale, Utah, admitted on May 5, 2026, to possessing heroin with intent to sell.
According to court documents and De Santiago’s statements during his plea and sentencing hearings, on February 19, 2025, he brought 5027 grams of fentanyl and 1103 grams of heroin to Utah for sale in exchange for money.
In addition to imprisonment and supervised release, De Santiago will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation proceedings upon his release.
Melissa Holyoak, a federal prosecutor in Utah, stated that “anyone bringing heroin, fentanyl, or other dangerous drugs into our community will face direct punishment in federal prison and in this case, deportation as well.”
She reiterated that her office “has a zero-tolerance approach to drug traffickers and will strictly punish these criminal acts in accordance with the law.”
Robert Bohls, head of the FBI in Salt Lake City, commented that “each drug dealer apprehended means one less threat to our community; this sentence is a direct result of close collaboration and joint efforts to eradicate dangerous drugs from the streets and protect the public we serve.”
The case was investigated and solved by the Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF) and the Davis Metro Narcotic Strike Force (DMNSF), and prosecuted by the Utah District Attorney’s Office.
The announcement stated that the case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative aimed at mobilizing all resources of the Department of Justice to prevent the invasion of illegal immigrants, completely eliminate drug trafficking syndicates and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent offenders.