Rockford Man Sentenced to Eleven Years in Prison for Attempting To Import More Than Half a Kilogram of Fentanyl

ROCKFORD — A Rockford man was sentenced today to eleven years in federal prison for attempting to import more than half a kilogram of fentanyl into the United States from Mexico. 

BENIGNO SANCHEZ, 47, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of attempting to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the sentence during a hearing in federal court in Rockford.

Sanchez admitted that in March 2023 he expected a package containing controlled substances to be delivered to him at an address in Rockford via FedEx from Mexico.  Law enforcement agents intercepted the package, which contained more than 500 grams of fentanyl pressed into pills (designed to imitate opioid pills) that were hidden inside a wooden tortilla press.  After detecting the fentanyl inside the package, law enforcement agents removed the drugs and delivered the package to Sanchez.  Once delivered, Sanchez took custody of the package, drove it to another location, and opened it to take possession of what he believed to be the drugs.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.