A Washington man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possessing about $150 million worth of fentanyl after being arrested with the drugs last summer in Cheyenne.
Diego Aguilar-Valdovinos, 38, of Federal Way, Washington pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on Wednesday. His sentencing hearing is set for April 25.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years to life in prison, five years to life of supervised release and up to a $10 million fine.
Aguilar-Valdovinos was arrested in July when a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper stopped him for speeding east of Cheyenne on Interstate 80.
The trooper became suspicious of Aguilar-Valdovinos, who was driving a 2021 Hyundai Kona, when the man provided inconsistent and implausible travel plans.
The trooper detained the driver and deployed a drug-sniffing dog around the exterior of the car. The dog indicated it smelled drugs inside the vehicle.
A search of the car was conducted and the trooper found approximately 24 pounds of suspected fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, inside the vehicle.
Aguilar-Valdovinos was arrested and charged with felony transportation, distribution and possession of narcotics.
“Fentanyl has become more of a prevalent drug in recent years and can be lethal for law enforcement and first responders who come in contact with it,” the WHP said in a social media post at the time of the arrest. “Individuals can experience potentially fatal effects from minimal amounts of the drug. If Fentanyl is taken in conjunction with other opiates, its lethal dose is even smaller. To put it into perspective, two milligrams of Fentanyl can be deadly to a human.”
