A man was convicted last Wednesday for possessing more than 2,000 pills classified as Schedule II narcotics.
Jesus Alexander Perez Fuentes, 27, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to CBS.
A federal judge ordered Fuentes to hand over $13,000 in addition to his prison sentence.
Fuentes pleaded guilty in October of last year.
Prosecutors said Fuentes was being investigated after an informant told police that he was distributing the fentanyl in counterfeit oxycodone pills known as M30s.
Police learned that Fuentes would be at the Dallas Galleria Mall with 1,000 fentanyl pills. They pulled him over with a woman whose name was not released for a traffic violation.
Police found a loaded gun after searching the car and found a bag containing more than 2,000 fentanyl-laced pills and more than $13,000 in cash.
Police said Fuentes admitted the money came from drug trafficking.
Fentanyl overdoses are a nationwide problem and have also affected communities in North Texas.
Several high-profile fentanyl incidents occurred in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, where 10 overdoses, including three deaths, were tied to a specific house near R.L. Turner High School, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
In the aftermath, widespread media coverage and events like vigils, workshops from the school district on how to talk to kids about fentanyl, and major police busts ensued, The Dallas Express reported.
Meanwhile, there has been a multitude of drug and narcotic-related crimes in Dallas. According to the Dallas crime analytics dashboard, there have been 2,708 crimes related to drugs and narcotics in 2023 as of Monday.
In April, there have so far been 473 incidents of drug and narcotics-related crimes.
