2 Arizona men indicted after 40K fentanyl pills are found in Salt Lake hotel room

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SALT LAKE CITY — Two men from Arizona are facing federal charges after they were found in possession of 40,000 fentanyl pills at a hotel in Salt Lake City, according to prosecutors.

A federal grand jury indicted Dominic Jared Arias Aceves, 22, of Arizona, and Cristo Alexander Urias Salazar, 32, "a foreign national living in Arizona," on charges of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

The FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force began an investigation into Aceves, Salazar and other members of a drug trafficking organization in October. On Oct. 21, agents executed a search warrant for a hotel room in Salt Lake City where officials believed the men were staying, the U.S. attorney's office said.

During the search, almost 4,000 grams of fentanyl, 3.19 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia were seized, according to court documents. The amount of fentanyl equated to about 40,000 pills.

Agents believe evidence gathered from the hotel room shows the room was paid for by Salazar and used by Aceves for distribution of fentanyl, court documents state. In an interview with the agents, Salazar admitted to possessing the narcotics found and said he and Aceves had transported the drugs from Arizona to Utah for redistribution, court documents state.

Both men were taken into custody. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

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Cassidy Wixom

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Cassidy Wixom is an award-winning reporter for KSL.com. She covers Utah County communities and breaking news. Cassidy graduated from BYU before joining KSL in 2022.