On August 13, two Mexican citizens were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid drug that is 100 times more potent than morphine.
29-year-old Florencio Camacho Allan and 30-year-old Gerardo Gaxiola Patiño pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl. They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another accomplice, 26-year-old Alex Valdez Oroz, is set to receive sentencing on September 10.
According to the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, the defendants conspired with others to distribute fentanyl from September 2022 to March 2023.
The case involved a transaction of 2 million fentanyl pills. The drugs originated from drug traffickers in Sinaloa, Mexico, with the buyer being an undercover detective.
Prosecutors noted that the transaction was planned to take place in Los Angeles County, with the buyer agreeing to pay about 75 cents per pill. On a day in March 2023, three suspects arrived in a white car at a pre-arranged meeting spot – Denny’s restaurant in El Segundo. One person remained in the driver’s seat while the other two went into the restaurant to meet the buyer. They planned to sell 1 million fentanyl pills that evening and the following day in two batches of 500,000 pills each.
After the meeting, the undercover detective purchased a sample of 10,000 fentanyl pills for $7,500 as agreed. The suspects later showed the detective via WhatsApp video that they had 1 million fentanyl pills stored in the trunk of their car. They agreed to the exchange at a parking lot of a holiday inn.
Subsequently, law enforcement officers intercepted the three suspects on the road and searched the vehicle, discovering at least three sports bags filled with fentanyl pills in the trunk and back seat. The three suspects were then apprehended.