Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Mailing Fentanyl in Stuffed Animals from Arizona to Minnesota

(KNSI) – The first of six people accused of shipping fentanyl in stuffed animals from Arizona to Minnesota was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Tuesday.

Twenty-five-year-old Robiel Lee Williams will serve five years on parole after his release. From August 2022 to December 2023, prosecutors say Williams and five co-conspirators operated a drug trafficking scheme that moved fentanyl throughout Minnesota. The operation involved traveling to Phoenix to obtain fentanyl pills, concealing them inside stuffed animals, then mailing the packages to Twin Cities addresses.

“Drug dealers are endlessly creative in finding new ways to smuggle their deadly poison into Minnesota,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Williams and his co-conspirators hid their deadly fentanyl in stuffed animals—literally children’s toys. We should all be appalled. Williams will rightly spend the next decade in federal prison.”

Investigators seized six packages containing more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl pills and found fingerprints belonging to Williams and several others on the packaging. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, one kilogram of pure fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

Cases against the five remaining defendants are pending in federal court.

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