A 55-year-old Chicago man who used the U.S. Postal Service to buy fentanyl from Arizona and sell it was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison earlier this month. Alonzo Powe pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge before U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah handed down the sentence on September 9.
Federal prosecutors say Powe arranged to receive numerous packages of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine mailed from Arizona to addresses he controlled in the Chicago area, in exchange for large amounts of cash, according to the WGN-TV report on his sentencing. The scheme ran through 2022 and 2023, with drugs mailed to Powe in exchange for cash.
The case unraveled after a court-authorized search of Powe's residence in the Wrightwood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side in 2023, per WGN-TV. Police discovered a U.S. Postal Service box containing fentanyl inside the home, along with numerous other bundles and plastic bags of the drug, the station reported.
Evidence Recovered From Home
Police recovered fentanyl from Powe's home.
Powe was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
Part of a Broader Border-to-City Pipeline
Federal agencies including Customs and Border Protection have targeted Southwest border supply routes through operations like Operation Apollo, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Powe's case involved Arizona-to-Illinois shipments sent through the mail.
Fentanyl Still Drives Most Overdose Deaths in Cook County
Despite Powe's arrest and sentencing, fentanyl remains deeply embedded in Cook County's overdose crisis. Opioid overdose deaths countywide fell by 42% in 2024 compared to 2022, dropping to 1,138 fatalities, though fentanyl was still involved in 91.7% of Chicago opioid overdose deaths and 87.1% of suburban Cook County deaths, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.
Preliminary 2025 data from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office recorded 683 confirmed opioid overdose deaths, with fentanyl accounting for 82% of those fatalities, according to Cook County Government. Adults aged 50 to 59 represented the most affected demographic group at 27%, and males accounted for 73% of confirmed opioid deaths in the county last year.
Powe's 12-year sentence marks the closing chapter of one node in a trafficking network that stretched from the Southwest border to Chicago mailboxes.
