Minnesota Man Sentenced for Role in Massive National Fentanyl Trafficking Ring

Madison, WI (KROC-AM News)- A Minnesota man has been sentenced to federal prison after being convicted in a takedown of a national fentanyl trafficking organization. 

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He was prosecuted in Wisconsin. A news release issued by the U.S. The Attorney's Office for Western Wisconsin says he entered a guilty plea in the case in the Spring. 

The New Brighton man is one of four members of a drug distribution organization to be sentenced in the case that involved fentanyl trafficking in Madison. 

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Court documents say the investigation began after law enforcement seized two parcels sent through the U.S. Postal system that contained a combined nearly 20,000 pills that tested positive for fentanyl in January of 2022. 

The packages were sent to the Wisconsin state capital city from an address in Arizona from January through October of 2022, the news release says. Law enforcement conducted 23 controlled buys of fentanyl trafficked by the organization over the course of the investigation. 

Investigators identified 26-year-old Yoshi R. Walker was one of the out-of state sources that was shipping the deadly drug. 

The news release says law enforcement intercepted a package containing almost 16,000 fentanyl pills that Walker had sent from Arizona.  

Authorities also learned that Walker spoke with the alleged leader of the drug trafficking ring, identified as Lloyd McKire-Bennett about a lost drug shipment. 

Walker pleaded guilty in April to a count of attempting to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. He was sentenced by a federal judge to six years in prison and three years of supervised release following his time behind bars. 

In May McKire-Bennett was sentenced to 13.5 years in federal prison. The other individuals convicted in the case, identified as Dejon C. Glover and Deshawn P. Davis, received prison sentences of 4.5 years and 5.5 years respectively.

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