Source: US FBI
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Dominic Jared Arias Aceves, 23, of Arizona, and Cristo Alexander Urias Salazar, 32, of Mexico, were sentenced by a U.S. District Court Judge after they trafficked about 40,000 fentanyl pills from Arizona to Utah for further distribution.
Aceves was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Salazar was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. Upon his release, Salazar will be remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings. The two defendants pleaded guilty on May 12, 2025 to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
According to court documents and statements made at Aceves and Salazar’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, on October 21, 2024, in the District of Utah, they possessed approximately 3,952 grams of field-tested positive fentanyl (about 40,000 pills) with the intent to distribute. See prior press release: Two Accused Drug Dealers Indicted After Allegedly Possessing 40,000 Fentanyl Pills in Salt Lake City
Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.