‘M30 King of Fresno’ sentenced to prison after wave of fentanyl overdoses, prosecutor says
A man who called himself the “M30 King of Fresno” for selling fentanyl and other drugs was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison, federal prosecutors said on Monday.
Horacio Torrecillas Urias Jr., 24, of Fresno, pleaded guilty in September to distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
He was sentenced to 23 years and one month in prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith said in a news release.
Torrecillas Urias was one of 18 suspected drug traffickers arrested in March 2022 in a large-scale operation involving Fresno County law enforcement and federal agencies. Two more were arrested later.
After a series of fentanyl-pill overdoses in the Fresno area, investigators began to look into the distributors, including the M30 King, according to prosecutors. The moniker came from counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets containing fentanyl, referred to on the street as “M30s.”
M30s look like small round pills with an M stamped on them and came in light blue or green, officials said.
Investigators began Operation Killer High, an investigation that targeted the drug dealers believed to be supplying the pills that led to a spike in fentanyl-related overdoses.
Torrecillas Urias got “tens of thousands” of counterfeit M30 fentanyl pills and large quantities of fentanyl powder, cocaine and methamphetamine from sellers in Mexico, prosecutors said.
He sold the pills in and outside of California.
All but one of 20 people arrested on suspicion of taking part in the drug sales has pleaded guilty, prosecutors said. The remaining defendant was found guilty at trial and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
