Miguel Angel Gaytan-Ramirez, a 34-year-old undocumented Mexican national residing in Phoenix, has been sentenced to 151 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa after Gaytan-Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl on November 5, 2024.
The case began on January 25, 2024, when an undercover agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arranged to buy 150,000 fentanyl pills from a member of a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico. The transaction was set to occur at a parking lot in Phoenix.
Upon arrival at the location, investigators identified a Dodge Ram pickup truck linked to the drug operation. Gaytan-Ramirez contacted the undercover agent from inside the vehicle and was subsequently detained by authorities.
Further investigation led agents to an apartment used by Gaytan-Ramirez as a narcotics storage site. With his consent, investigators searched the premises and found significant quantities of drugs and weapons: approximately 34 kilograms of blue pills containing fentanyl, eight kilograms of fentanyl powder, and nineteen kilograms of cocaine were seized along with a rifle and over $18,000 in cash believed to be drug proceeds.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA's Phoenix East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph K. Nwoga and Stuart J. Zander from the District of Arizona handled the prosecution.