An Arizona man has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring that brought “large amounts” of illicit fentanyl into Kansas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors say 35-year-old Rafael Turner was the ringleader of a fentanyl operation that involved at least 45 other people across the U.S., including some in Wichita. He conspired with the group until March 2023 to obtain and distribute the deadly opioid and engaged in a number of conversations and actions to meet that goal, knowing at all times that the fentanyl was illegal, prosecutors say.
He “voluntarily and knowingly” committed the crimes for the “shared mutual benefit” of everyone involved, according to his plea agreement…