Michigan man sentenced to 60 months for role in Arizona-based drug conspiracy in Homeland Security Task Force case

Date: July 1, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Tucson, AZ - Mark Craythorn Thompson of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced on June 25, by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Thompson previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl.

As part of this conspiracy, Thompson picked up a package in Detroit, Michigan on Sept. 28, 2023, that contained 997.3 grams of powdered fentanyl. The package had been shipped to Michigan from Arizona in the U.S. Mail, and Thompson intended to deliver the fentanyl to individuals in the Detroit metro area.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF Arizona-Tucson comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, and various local and state law enforcement agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.