Arizona Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Trafficking Hundreds of Thousands of Fentanyl Pills to Alaska

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Odarious Shaw, a 25-year-old Arizona resident, received a 10-year prison sentence today along with three years of supervised release for his role in distributing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to Alaska over multiple months.

Court documents reveal that Shaw shipped fentanyl pills to Alaska twice weekly for over six months, with each shipment containing 40,000 to 50,000 pills. On some occasions, shipments reached as high as 500,000 pills.

Shaw sourced the pills in Arizona, instructing buyers in Alaska to send him $150 via a money transfer service to confirm transactions. He would then schedule a courier to arrive at Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport with the drugs in their checked luggage. Upon arrival, the courier would deliver the pills to the buyer, collect the payment, and return immediately to Arizona to deliver the money to Shaw.

On June 25, 2023, Shaw's courier and co-defendant, 26-year-old Corrion James, was arrested at the Anchorage airport with over 41,000 fentanyl pills. The estimated street value of these pills was $400,000 to $600,000 in Anchorage and up to $4.8 million in rural Alaska.

Despite James' arrest, Shaw continued his drug operations but was eventually arrested in Arizona in August 2023. James pleaded guilty in February 2024 and was sentenced to over three years in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.

During sentencing, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason identified Shaw as a leader in the drug trafficking operation, expressing hope that this sentence would deter others from trafficking fentanyl to Alaska.

“A single pill can destroy someone’s life and the amount of fentanyl Mr. Shaw supplied to Alaska could destroy entire communities,” stated U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “Illegal fentanyl has absolutely no place here. My office will continue to hinder the inflow of illegal fentanyl into our state by working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt the supply and distribution of this poisonous drug.”

Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office commented on the operation, saying, “During the course of this investigation, the FBI and our law enforcement partners intercepted tens of thousands of illicit fentanyl pills before reaching local Alaska communities, preventing untold violence and devastation. With a task force approach, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable those who are fueling drug trafficking activities in Alaska.”

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