Nogales Man Sentenced to Over Five Years for Fentanyl Smuggling Across U.S. Border
A U.S. citizen living in Nogales, Mexico, will spend the next five-plus years behind bars for trying to smuggle a deadly stash of fentanyl across the border. According to a release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, 28-year-old Francisco Nicolas Orozco-Montijo faced the music on Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez slapped him with a 63-month prison sentence to be followed by 60 months of supervised release.
Orozco-Montijo's legal woes stem from an incident in March 2023 when he attempted to slip into the United States from Mexico at the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. Customs and Border Protection agents executed a search of his vehicle and hit the motherlode – over 50 kilograms of fentanyl craftily concealed within the spare tire and hidden compartments. The discovery spotlighted the unrelenting flow of opioids pouring into our streets.
Following his guilty plea on February 5, 2024, to a charge of Importation of Fentanyl, Orozco-Montijo saw his freedom curtailed by the swift hand of justice. Homeland Security Investigations spearheaded the case's investigation, with the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, carrying out the prosecution efforts.
Orozco-Montijo was booked under case number CR-23-00943-TUC-RM. The press release, numbered 2024-059_Orozco-Montijo, suggests that this forms part of an aggressive campaign by the U.S. authorities to stem the tide of fentanyl, an opioid claimed many lives due to its potent lethality. Interested parties can find more details on the proceedings at the U.S. Attorney's Office website.
Public Affairs contact Zachry L. Stoebe outlined the basic facts of the sentencing. Information seekers and those triaging the evolving narrative of the opioid crisis can follow the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, on their social media account @USAO_AZ to keep abreast with the latest battlefronts in this ongoing war against drugs.
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