Dominic Jared Arias Aceves, a 23-year-old resident of Arizona, and Cristo Alexander Urias Salazar, a 32-year-old citizen of Mexico, have been sentenced in federal court for trafficking about 40,000 fentanyl pills from Arizona to Utah. The sentencing took place in Salt Lake City.
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 custody of the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings after his release. Both men pleaded guilty on May 12, 2025, to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Court documents and statements made during the change of plea and sentencing hearings revealed that on October 21, 2024, Aceves and Salazar were found in possession of approximately 3,952 grams—about 40,000 pills—of fentanyl that tested positive in field tests. They intended to distribute these pills within Utah. Additional details can be found in an earlier press release: Two Accused Drug Dealers Indicted After Allegedly Possessing 40,000 Fentanyl 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) led the investigation into this case. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
This case is part of efforts under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven approach involving multiple agencies to target major criminal organizations across the United States. More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
