4 days ago
Man sentenced for role in Minnesota's largest ever fentanyl bust
A man has been sentenced for his role in one of the largest fentanyl busts in Minnesota history.
Court documents show a judge sentenced Quijuan Bankhead to 10 years in prison, five years supervised released and $100 special assessment.
Bankhead was one of eight people who previously pleaded guilty of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
A ninth person, Cornell Chandler Jr., was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2024 for his role in the drug trafficking operation, officials say.
Charges say between August 2022 and December 2023, several of the defendants would travel to Phoenix to obtain fentanyl pills from suppliers and would hide the pills inside stuffed animals before mailing them to addresses in and around the Twin Cities.
Authorities from Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties initiated a joint investigation into the trafficking ring, resulting in the seizure of over 30,000 grams of fentanyl pills.
Investigators say there were 280,000 pills with an estimated value of more than $2 million.
Preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health says more than 1,200 people died from drug overdoses in 2023, with about 70% of them involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
