Arizona Man Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison For Fentanyl Trafficking

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Shane Burns, age 26, of Scottsdale, Arizona, to 168 months' imprisonment, to be followed by 5 years' supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Burns was one of fifteen individuals indicted in February 2023 for conspiring to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl in Northeastern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Burns was the leader and organizer of the conspiracy, having established connections with Mexican cartels to obtain fentanyl pills, and distributing those pills in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and other locations in Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as other states.

The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Scranton, the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard T. Donahue prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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