FBI: fentanyl distribution in recent case tied to drug trafficking organization on Maui

An Arizona man was sentenced in federal court today to 15 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, according to the US Department of Justice.

Robert Darnell Beal, 41, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced in federal court on Feb. 7, 2022, by US District Judge Derrick K. Watson. On June 25, 2021, Beal was found guilty of conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl after a five-day jury trial in Honolulu.

Clare E. Connors, US Attorney for the District of Hawai’i, said the evidence presented in court showed that Beal flew to the Dayton International Airport in Ohio from Phoenix, Arizona, on Dec. 10, 2014, and took possession of over four pounds of fentanyl that was transported from the San Francisco Bay Area to Dayton, Ohio by another individual.

Special Agents with the FBI monitoring wiretaps authorized by the US District Court, determined that the fentanyl was being transported to Dayton, Ohio on Dec. 10, 2014 by a drug trafficking organization operating on Maui and in Northern California.

The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration in Ohio, working in conjunction with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, effected a stop of Beal’s taxicab outside the Dayton International Airport and seized 4,007 grams of fentanyl in Beal’s travel bag, according to the US Department of Justice.

Beal faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months imprisonment after the prosecution filed an enhancement alleging a prior federal felony conviction for possessing cocaine base with intent to distribute in the District of New Mexico.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the US using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Maui Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and assisted by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Thomas C. Muehleck.