Man named in superseding indictment receives 15 years in prison for drug operation

Johnstown, Pa ( WJET/WFXP ) — An Arizona man who was named in a Second Superseding Indictment that included 35 people back in January was sentenced for his role in a domestic and international drug operation.

A Pennsylvania judge sentenced 22-year-old Jairo Morales, of Phoenix, to 180 months in prison with five years of supervised release after being convicted of conspiring to possess and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to prosecutors, Morales and others operated in western Pennsylvania from about August 2021 to June 2023 while also working to launder money from April 2022 to around March 2023.

Morales was part of the Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization (Monarrez DTO) which has been accused of importing millions of fentanyl pills, kilograms of fentanyl powder, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and dozens of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico using shipping containers to be distributed across the United States.

Prosecutors said the Monarrez DTO was operating in places including Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Wichita, Kansas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cleveland, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Western Pennsylvania and more.

During his time with the Monarrez DTO, Morales was responsible for conspiring to distribute 7.48 kilograms of cocaine, 83 kilograms of fentanyl, and 72 kilograms of methamphetamine along with possessing firearms related to trafficking the drugs.

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