A Phoenix drug trafficker has been handed a hefty sentence after being convicted on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a significant amount of fentanyl. Miguel Angel Gaytan-Ramirez, a 34-year-old undocumented Mexican national living in Phoenix, will spend the next 151 months in federal prison, which will be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. This news comes after official statements were released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

The series of events that led to Gaytan-Ramirez's arrest began when an undercover agent, working for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), struck a deal to purchase approximately 15 kilograms of fentanyl pills from a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico. It was on January 25, 2024, in a Phoenix parking lot, that agents nabbed Gaytan-Ramirez, who had positioned himself in the incriminating Dodge Ram pickup as part of the planned transaction. Following the arrest, a search of a nearby apartment—which Gaytan-Ramirez consented to—yielded over 90 pounds of fentanyl and over 40 pounds of cocaine, as well as a firearm and a sum of cash exceeding $18,000, according to court documents.

The investigation, which culminated in the substantial seizure and Gaytan-Ramirez's subsequent sentencing, was carried out by DEA's Phoenix East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force. The prosecution was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph K. Nwoga and Stuart J. Zander.

United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa imposed the sentence last week, marking the close of case number CR-24-00257-PHX-DJH.