Arizona Man Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking Counterfeit Fentanyl Pills Into Ohio

CLEVELAND – Solomon Odubajo, 37, of Tempe, Arizona, was sentenced to 248 months of imprisonment on August 3, 2023 by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster. A jury previously convicted Odubajo at trial of all six counts in his indictment: Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering, Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

According to evidence introduced at trial, on April 5, 2022, Odubajo mailed a parcel from Phoenix, Arizona to an address in Garfield Heights, Ohio. On April 6, 2022, U.S. Postal Inspectors in Cleveland intercepted the parcel and obtained a search warrant for it. After opening the parcel, the Postal Inspectors found that it contained approximately one kilogram of fentanyl pills, stamped to look like blue 30mg oxycodone pills. The pills were hidden inside of a vacuum cleaner in the parcel. The Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CCRFSL) later found latent prints on the interior of the parcel. A latent print examiner at the CCRFSL determined that those matched Odubajo’s prints.

On April 14, 2022, after conducting further investigation, Postal Inspectors made the parcel available for pickup at a Post Office in Cleveland as part of an undercover operation. Solomon Odubajo and a codefendant arrived at the post office and picked up the parcel from an undercover postal inspector. Odubajo then drove the parcel back to a residence in Avon, where he was arrested. When law enforcement searched Odubajo’s vehicle, they found a hidden compartment containing a loaded handgun and approximately $17,500 in cash. A forensic scientist at the CCRFSL later analyzed the handgun and found DNA on it that matched Odubajo’s DNA. Odubajo was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law due to a prior felony conviction for drug trafficking.

Law enforcement also searched the Avon residence where Odubajo was arrested. Inside of that residence, law enforcement found Odubajo’s luggage, as well as another half-kilogram of blue “M30” fentanyl pills.

A drug chemist from the CCRFSL testified at trial that each counterfeit fentanyl pill had a net weight of approximately 0.10 grams. This indicated that there were approximately 10,000 pills in the parcel, and an additional 5,000 pills in the Avon residence.

Evidence at trial also showed that Odubajo was arrested at the Atlanta, Georgia airport in February 2022 carrying approximately $35,000 in cash. Atlanta Police seized Odubajo’s cell phone during that arrest, and found messages on the phone that discussed trafficking blue fentanyl pills.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the DEA, the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Sciences Laboratory, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the ATF, and the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James Lewis, Alejandro Abreu, and Henry DeBaggis.