PHOENIX – A 34-year-old Phoenix man has been sentenced to 151 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Miguel Angel Gaytan-Ramirez also faces three years of supervised release after completing his prison term, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 5.

On Jan. 25, 2024, an undercover agent working for the Drug Enforcement Administration agreed to purchase 150,000 fentanyl pills from a member of a drug-trafficking organization in Mexico, according to court documents. The person in Mexico instructed the undercover agent to travel to a parking lot in Phoenix to complete the transaction.

Investigators identified a Dodge Ram pickup truck as the vehicle where the  DTO member would be, and a man later identified as Gaytan-Ramirez called the undercover agent and said that he was inside the pickup. Investigators moved in and detained Gaytan-Ramirez, the release stated.

They also identified a nearby apartment used by Gaytan-Ramirez to store narcotics. After receiving Gaytan-Ramirez’s permission, investigators searched the apartment and found and seized an American Tactical Omni Hybrid 5.56 NATO caliber rifle with an AOMEKIE scope, approximately 34 kilograms of blue pills stamped M30 that contained fentanyl, 8 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 19 kilograms of cocaine, officials said.

Authorities also seized more than $18,000 in drug proceeds from Gaytan-Ramirez’s vehicle and the stash house.