Dominic Jared Arias Aceves, a 23-year-old from Arizona, and Cristo Alexander Urias Salazar, a 32-year-old Mexican citizen, have been sentenced by a U.S. District Court Judge for trafficking about 40,000 fentanyl pills from Arizona to Utah.
Aceves received a sentence of 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Salazar was sentenced to 48 months in prison and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. Both defendants pleaded guilty on May 12, 2025, to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Court documents and statements from plea and sentencing hearings revealed that on October 21, 2024, in the District of Utah, Aceves and Salazar were found with approximately 3,952 grams of fentanyl—equivalent to around 40,000 pills—with the intention to distribute them. A previous press release provided further details on their indictment after allegedly possessing these pills in Salt Lake City.
Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah announced the sentences.
The FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF) conducted the investigation into this case. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
This case was part of an effort led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which works through collaboration among multiple agencies using intelligence-driven strategies aimed at disrupting significant criminal organizations threatening national security. More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
