Arizona Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Drug Conspiracy Into South Dakota: More Than 10,000 Fentanyl Pills Shipped Into the State
RAPID CITY, South Dakota — Francisco Siquieros-Valenzuela, also known as Pancho, 32, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on November 9, 2026, to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that U.S. District Judge Camela T. Theeler imposed the sentence, which is followed by five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Siquieros-Valenzuela was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2025 and pleaded guilty on May 20, 2026.
Prosecutors said the defendant was part of a multi-state drug conspiracy involving people from Mexico, Arizona and South Dakota, responsible for importing primarily fentanyl and methamphetamine and shipping it from Arizona to South Dakota. In total, more than 1 kilogram of fentanyl pills — more than 10,000 pills — was shipped into South Dakota.
U.S. Attorney Parsons said investigators found the defendant in Tucson, where he was sourcing fentanyl and methamphetamine out of Mexico, packaging it and sending it to South Dakota. Parsons said anyone who ships illegal drugs to South Dakota, whether or not they ever set foot in the state, will be identified, tracked down, apprehended, prosecuted and sent to federal prison.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Justice Department initiative. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Rapid City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Criminal Chief Gregg Peterman prosecuted the case. Siquieros-Valenzuela was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：缉毒局发布的「彩虹芬太尼」M30 药片资料图，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。图为资料图，非本案查获物。 / Image: Rainbow fentanyl M30 pills in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Shown as a file photo, not evidence seized in this case.
