Fentanyl Trafficker Receives 10-Year Prison Sentence

(KNSI) – One of the men involved in a scheme to traffic fentanyl into Minnesota through stuffed animals was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison.

Quijuan Hosea Bankhead of St. Paul was part of a conspiracy crisscrossing the entire country. Court documents state that he was part of a group that would fly to Phoenix, Arizona, to get pressed fentanyl pills from a network of suppliers. Bankhead and others would then remove the stuffing from toys and replace it with pills. The seemingly innocent stuffies were then mailed to addresses throughout the Twin Cities area.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service became suspicious and started a joint investigation with the Department of Homeland Security, the Dakota and Washington County Drug Task Force units, and the Ramsey County Violent Crime Enforcement Team. Authorities intercepted six packages containing more than 66 pounds of fentanyl pills.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson says the scheme was unnerving. “Bankhead and his network smuggled deadly fentanyl into Minnesota and had the gall to hide this poison inside of children’s toys-stuffed animals.” He continued, “Bankhead will now serve a well-deserved decade in federal prison.”

The sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.

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