Phoenix traffic stop leads to conviction of fentanyl trafficker

INDEPENDENT MEDIA

A fentanyl trafficker was sentenced to seven years in prison following his arrest last year in Phoenix, federal authorities said.

Angel Valencia-Avendano, 20, of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, according to a release from the District of Arizona. from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Investigators were conducting surveillance on March 6, 2023, near 78^th Avenue and West McDowell Road when Valencia-Avendano was stopped for a traffic violation and the vehicle was searched, the release states.

In the backpack in the back of the car, investigators found approximately 280,000 pills containing fentanyl. Investigators then searched Valencia-Avendano’s apartment, where they seized a handgun, 3 more kilograms of fentanyl, drug records and $83,500, law enforcement said.

The handgun and money were forfeited to the United States.