Phoenix man sentenced to 78 months in prison for fentanyl trafficking

PHOENIX — A Phoenix man was sentenced to 78 months in prison for fentanyl trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Arizona said in a press release.

In September 2022, Luis Ernesto Morales-Reyes, 38, agreed to deliver 99,500 fentanyl pills to an individual in Tucson.

Morales-Reyes drove to Tucson and delivered the fentanyl to an undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, authorities said.

After delivering the pills, Morales-Reyes was arrested. Agents found a loaded 9mm handgun in his possession.

Following his arrest, the suspect admitted to making deliveries of different narcotics on behalf of a Phoenix-based drug trafficking organization, authorities said.

The arrest was part of the DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign.

In this campaign, authorities found that six out of every 10 fentanyl-laced pills tested in 2022 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.