Phoenix drug trafficker sentenced to 151 months in prison

PHOENIX — A Phoenix drug trafficker was sentenced to 151 months in prison, authorities announced on Friday.

Miguel Gaytan-Ramirez, 34, an undocumented Mexican man living in Phoenix, was caught by an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent more than a year ago.

The agent agreed to purchase 150,000 fentanyl pills from Gaytan-Ramirez, who was working as part of a Mexican drug trafficking organization, on Jan. 25, 2024.

Gaytan-Ramirez told the agent to travel and meet him at a parking lot in Phoenix to purchase the drugs.

During the meet up, investigators located a Dodge Ram pickup truck in the parking lot with Gaytan-Ramirez inside. Gaytan-Ramirez then called the agent and said he was inside the pickup, causing investigators to then arrest him.

After his arrest, authorities said Gaytan-Ramirez gave detectives consent to search his nearby apartment that he used to store drugs and weapons.

Inside a closet at the apartment, authorities found a black American Tactical Omni Hybrid 5.56 NATO caliber rifle with an AOMEKIE Scope, 34 kilograms (74.9 pounds) of blue pills labeled “M30” which contained fentanyl, eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) of fentanyl powder and 19 kilograms (41.9 pounds) of cocaine.

Authorities also took more than $18,000 cash in total from his truck and apartment.

The sentencing came after Gaytan-Ramirez had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl on Nov. 5.

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