SALT LAKE CITY — Two men from Arizona were sentenced in federal court to multiple years in prison for trafficking 40,000 fentanyl pills to Utah.
Dominic Jared Arias Aceves, 23, and Cristo Alexander Urias Salazar, 32, were sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge for trafficking drugs from Arizona to Utah for further distribution. Aceves, of Arizona, and Salazar, who is from Mexico but has been living in Arizona, pleaded guilty in May to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
FBI agents began investigating the men, and other alleged members of a drug trafficking organization, in October 2024. On Oct. 21, agents executed a search warrant for a hotel room in Salt Lake City where officials believed the men were staying, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
During the search, almost 4,000 grams of fentanyl, 3.19 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were seized, according to court documents. The amount of fentanyl equated to about 40,000 pills.
Agents believe evidence gathered from the hotel room shows the room was paid for by Salazar and used by Aceves for the distribution of fentanyl. In an interview with the agents, Salazar admitted to possessing the narcotics found and said he and Aceves had transported the drugs from Arizona to Utah for redistribution, court documents state.
Aceves was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of supervised release. Salazar was sentenced to four years in prison and will be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings after his term is finished.
