Man sentenced for transporting thousands of fentanyl pills

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man has been sentenced following his conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney, Alamdar S. Hamdani.

21-year-old Alex Dominque Carrillo pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton has ordered Carrillo to serve eight years in federal prison immediately followed by four years of supervised release.

At the hearing, the court heard that in addition to the fentanyl, law enforcement determined Carrillo was also linked to the seizure of multiple kilograms of meth.

"Just one pill can kill," said Hamdani. "Mexican drug traffickers have no regard for the countless lives lost at the hands of fentanyl. Today's sentence puts another fentanyl trafficker behind bars and thousands of lethal fentanyl pills off the streets."

In May 2023, authorities began an investigation that determined Carrillo was a drug courier working on behalf of a Mexican drug trafficker. He was tasked to pick up the drugs once they were successfully imported by Mexican smugglers and deliver them to various buyers in the U.S.

The following month, law enforcement seized 500 fentanyl pills in Pharr that Carrillo had transported.

In August 2023, law enforcement observed that Carrillo was attempting to transport drugs to a McAllen buyer. Noticing the law enforcement presence, Carrillo attempted to conceal the 3,500 fentanyl pills in a public parking lot trash can. Authorities successfully retrieved the pills and placed Carrillo under arrest.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined soon.