An Illinois man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for distributing a substantial quantity of fentanyl, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor announced that Marco Sole, 52, of Lynwood, was sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.
The conviction relates to an incident on June 2, 2022, in which Sole delivered more than 40 grams of the strong opioid to another party. According to the official statement, documents show that he also trafficked the narcotic across Illinois and Indiana, sometimes employing an intermediary to handle the delivery. A search of a Chicago stash house linked to Sole turned up extra fentanyl and firearms.
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“This hefty sentence should make one thing clear to any out-of-state drug dealer who might be planning to traffic his poisons in Indiana: the state line will not shield you, and you will be brought to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation revealed Sole’s practice of spiking heroin with other fatal narcotics such as p-fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, and xylazine before distributing these products.
Multiple agencies collaborated on the operation that resulted in Sole’s conviction, including the FBI, GRIT Task Force, DEA, HIDTA, Indiana State Police, and the Lynwood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Toth and Kristian R. Mukoski prosecuted the case, which is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative. This initiative, derived from Executive Order 14159, seeks to dismantle criminal operations that pose threats both within and outside of the United States, with an emphasis on child trafficking and other crimes against children.
The Homeland Security Task Force in Indianapolis coordinates the resources and skills of several law enforcement organizations to prosecute and, where appropriate, deport violent criminal aliens. Dedicated to ensuring community safety and stability, the task force tackles a wide range of illicit operations carried out by organized crime networks.
