Mexico man who brought fentanyl, heroin into Utah given 5 years in prison

SALT LAKE CITY — A man from Mexico was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl and heroin into Utah.

Miguel Mario Soto De Santiago, 25, was initially charged in federal court with possession of fentanyl and heroin with intent to distribute but pleaded guilty in May to just the heroin charge.

Soto De Santiago was arrested during a traffic stop in February 2025 as part of an ongoing state and federal investigation. Investigators had learned a Jeep Grand Cherokee was bringing "large quantities of narcotics into Utah," according to the charges. He was pulled over after agents spotted his Jeep on I-15 in Nephi.

A K-9 officer positively alerted to the presence of drugs, and Soto De Santiago's vehicle was searched. Agents located approximately 50,000 M30 fentanyl pills and over 2 pounds of heroin, according to the charges.

"Santiago said that he was doing it at the direction of an individual in Mexico, and was going to get paid U.S. currency for the delivery. Santiago admitted to being in the country illegally from Mexico," according to a police booking affidavit. Santiago told officers he had been living in Utah for a month.

In his plea, he admitted to bringing heroin and fentanyl into Utah in exchange for money, and the drugs were intended to be further distributed.

On July 21, he was sentenced to five years in prison plus four years of probation. Upon his release, he will be handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings, court documents state.

"Anyone who brings heroin, fentanyl, or other dangerous drugs into our community is on a direct path to federal prison — and, in this case, deportation," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah. "My office maintains zero tolerance for drug traffickers, and we will prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law."

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