Avondale man sentenced to five years in prison for fentanyl distribution after HSTF investigation

Date: July 22, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Phoenix, AZ - Jose De Jesus Martinez of Avondale was sentenced on July 13, by United States District Judge Sharad H. Desai to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Martinez previously pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.

On May 5, 2025, near Phoenix, Martinez was caught delivering approximately 150,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. Martinez was arrested and agents seized the 13.3 kilograms of drugs.

Fentanyl is a man-made opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially deadly dose. Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, appearing nearly identical to other prescription pills, are often sold through social media or other illegitimate sources.

Legitimate pharmaceutical pills cannot be bought through social media. The only safe medications are ones prescribed directly to you by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.

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 Phoenix comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

The Glendale Police Department also provided significant assistance in this case.

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.