Cuban sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit pills

PHOENIX – A Cuban permanent resident living in Maricopa has been sentenced to three years in prison for selling counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

A U.S. district judge sentenced 27-year-old Dairon Jissan Rodriguez-Escalante last week to 33 months in prison and three years probation.

On two separate occasions between October and November 2021, Rodriguez-Escalante sold over 650 grams of blue M30 pills containing fentanyl to agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Through social media, Rodriguez-Escalante was initially identified as a supplier of counterfeit M30 pills to other individuals who were sending narcotics through the mail.

He pleaded guilty on March 27 to possession of fentanyl with intent to resell.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency define counterfeit M30 tablets as tablets that resemble genuine 30 mg oxycodone tablets. Counterfeit tablets generally contain no active ingredient or may contain lethal amounts of fentanyl or methamphetamine without the user knowing.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the availability of counterfeit pills is increasing and overdose deaths are at historically high levels. Of the 54,768 overdose deaths in 2021, 2,437 were proven to be the result of taking counterfeit pills. Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl caused a higher percentage of deaths, according to the study.

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