The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jose Sanchez, of Maryland, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The charges arose from investigations by the Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s Department and Homeland Security Investigations.

On May 2, 2022, Sanchez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

On Nov. 18, 2019, a Sequoyah County deputy stopped Sanchez for speeding on Interstate- 40. During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered a vacuumsealed bag concealed under a rear speaker. The bag contained 9,648 counterfeit oxycodone pills which later tested positive for fentanyl. The fake pills contained over a kilogram of fentanyl.

“The defendant was transporting thousands of lethal doses of fentanyl,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, and a single dose of only two milligrams is potentially lethal. I commend the work of our law enforcement partners in discovering and seizing these counterfeit pills. Combatting the trafficking of illegal narcotics, especially fentanyl, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma continues to be a priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearings in Muskogee.

Sanchez will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Conway represented the United States.