Drug Dealers Who Mailed Fentanyl from Phoenix to Sioux City Sentenced to More Than 15 years in Federal Prison

Aki Awou, age 33, from Omaha, Nebraska, was found guilty by a jury on March 1, 2024, of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. His brother, Karom Bol, age 20, of Sioux City, pled guilty on February 21, 2024, to five related counts: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of firearms by a drug user, and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Evidence in the case revealed that the two were gang members and between January 2022 and May 2022, Awou, traveled to the Phoenix, Arizona area, where he would mail packages containing thousands of fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone to Bol's address' in Sioux City, Iowa. The Omaha Police Department's Gang Intelligence Unit utilized a GPS tracker on Awou's vehicle to pinpoint Awou's travels and package mailing activities, including his shipment of fentanyl to addresses in Sioux City from post offices in Arizona. Postal Inspectors were able to intercept a package and conduct a controlled delivery with assistance from the DEA and the Sioux City Police Department, at one of the Sioux City addresses. Afterwards, law enforcement executed a search warrant. During the search warrant, Bol was observed throwing firearms out a second story bedroom window. Agents identified a second Sioux City location tied to Bol and Awou, and obtained a second search warrant for that residence. Additional evidence, including illegal pills, was found at that location.

Postal Inspectors later received notice of another package being sent from Arizona to the address in Sioux City and were able to intercept and search that package, revealing that it also contained thousands of fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone. Awou's fingerprints were on three packages used as evidence in the case and Bol's palm print was located on the package used during the controlled delivery. In total, Bol and Awou were responsible for nearly two pounds of fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone.

Awou was sentenced on July 24, 2024, in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 192 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Bol was sentenced July 10, 2024, in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 180 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Timothy Duax stated, "Fentanyl is an incredibly dangerous illegal drug, and when people like Awou and Bol bring fentanyl to our community, they place our citizens at risk of serious harm and death. Accordingly, we are grateful for the hard work and cooperation of federal and state law enforcement agencies in stopping these individuals and sending a clear message that fentanyl traffickers will be caught and severely punished in the Northern District of Iowa."

Awou and Bol are being held in the United States Marshal's custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Omaha, Nebraska Police Department, Sioux City, Iowa Police Department, United States Postal Inspector, DEA Tri-State Drug Task Force, Lancaster County, Nebraska Sheriff's Department, and the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ron Timmons, Shawn Wehde, and Patrick Greenwood.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 22-4051.

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