Man sentenced to 7 years in prison after he was caught in Arizona with 73 pounds of fentanyl pills

PHOENIX — A man was sentenced to seven years in prison for various fentanyl drug trafficking charges, authorities announced Thursday.

Baltazar Quintero-Bueno, who was sentenced May 29 in Pima County Superior Court, was tied to a major fentanyl trafficking operation, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

He previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell a narcotic drug, conspiring to possess a narcotic drug for sale, misconduct involving weapons and illegally conducting an enterprise.

Details about fentanyl drug trafficking operation

Quintero-Bueno was part of the fentanyl drug trafficking operation in Pima County between May and December of 2024, prosecutors said.

He sold fentanyl pills and possessed large amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Authorities found him in possession of around 73.3 pounds of fentanyl pills and multiple firearms while actively trafficking drugs on Dec. 23, 2024, prosecutors said.

In addition to his prison sentence, Quintero-Bueno was ordered to pay $4,500 to the state’s anti-racketeering revolving fund and $4,500 in investigative costs to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

He also had to forfeit various firearms used while he was actively drug trafficking.

“Those engaged in illicit drug trafficking should be on notice that my office along with our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you to justice,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in the announcement.

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