GLENDALE, Ariz. — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
A Glendale man was sentenced this week to spend 13 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to running an Internet-based drug trafficking operation.
Jacob Matthew Medina, 29, admitted to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin to customers who were solicited through the "darknet." According to court records, undercover federal agents purchased some heroin from a dark web vendor known as "Ghost831."
The heroin was mailed from a post office in Glendale.
Investigators were able to trace the "Ghost831" account to Medina and discovered he had been selling narcotics across the country. One of his listed customers in Arkansas died from an overdose in 2019, records show.
The deceased's family told investigators he had been buying fentanyl pills over the dark web.
The Arkansas man's mailing information was later found in Medina's home after investigators executed a search warrant.
Investigators additionally reported finding in the defendant's home more than a pound of heroin, 500 grams of counterfeit fentanyl pills, and tools to press and manufacture pills.
Federal officials blamed Medina for playing a direct role in fueling the nation's opioid crisis.
“The presence of powerful drugs, such as fentanyl, in counterfeit pills that are sold over the Internet has endangered many lives throughout the United States," said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino.
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