A 32-year-old man who had lived in Salt Lake was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on September 9 after undercover agents say they recovered more than 4,500 grams of fentanyl from him and his apartment, capping an operation that began with a controlled drug buy. Francisco Antonio Rodriguez Raudales now faces federal drug trafficking and immigration charges tied to two prior removals from the United States.
According to jail records reviewed by Recently Booked, Rodriguez Raudales was booked on charges including trafficking fentanyl under Utah Code § 76-18-220, along with a federal detainee hold. As reported by KUTV, agents were conducting a controlled purchase from a known source when Rodriguez Raudales took pills from his backpack before agents detained him.
Agents then searched Rodriguez Raudales's apartment and found additional fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder, per the same account. In total, seizures from the operation totaled 4,575.12 grams of fentanyl, per a Department of Justice release. Rodriguez Raudales has been charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and reentry of a previously removed alien, having been removed from the United States once in March 2012 and again in December 2023, the station reports.
The Alleged Quantity Is Substantial
The operation yielded 4,575.12 grams of fentanyl. Rodriguez Raudales faces a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute.
The illegal reentry charge adds further exposure. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, reentering the country after a prior removal is a federal felony carrying a base maximum of two years, but that maximum climbs to 10 or 20 years if the earlier removal followed a felony or aggravated felony conviction. Rodriguez Raudales's jury trial is scheduled for November 24, 2026, in Salt Lake and is expected to last two days, per KUTV's report — though the charges remain allegations unless proven in court.
Part of a Wider Regional Crackdown
The case is an example of federal prosecution of alleged fentanyl trafficking in Utah. The DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division reported seizing more than 774,000 pills in Utah within six months in mid-2024, with agents seizing double the number of pills in 2025 compared to 2024.
Fentanyl pills and powder were among the substances seized in the operation.
Federal Charges in Salt Lake
Rodriguez Raudales faces federal charges of fentanyl possession with intent to distribute and illegal reentry.
The charges stem from an operation in which agents seized fentanyl pills and powder.
Statewide, fentanyl has become the dominant driver of overdose deaths. Utah Drug Monitoring Initiative data cited by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services showed fentanyl-related fatal overdoses jumped 125%, from 54 deaths in 2019 to 122 in 2020. Rodriguez Raudales faces drug trafficking and reentry charges in the case.
