An Arizona man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in Northeast Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion also sentenced Shane Burns, 26, of Scottsdale, to serve five years of probation upon his release on his conviction for conspiring to distribute fentanyl.
According to prosecutors, Burns was one of 15 people who were indicted in February 2023 on charges of conspiring to distribute more than 400 grams of the deadly opioid.
Burns was the leader and organizer of the operation, having established connections with Mexican cartels to obtain fentanyl pills that he distributed in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and beyond, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Wilkes-Barre police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.