CLEVELAND — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Ohio, Northern), published as received.

CLEVELAND  – An Arizona man was charged on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in a six-count superseding indictment related to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that sought to distribute and possess over 1 kilogram of fentanyl tablets designed to look like oxycodone pills in the Northern Ohio area.

Solomon Odubajo, 37, of Tempe, Arizona, was officially charged in the superseding indictment with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Odubajo’s co-conspirator in the drug trafficking scheme, Laysalle Scales, 24, of Cleveland, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty in July 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

According to court documents, in April 2022, Postal Inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) obtained a search warrant for a parcel suspected of containing drugs that had been mailed from Arizona to a residence in Garfield Heights, Ohio.  Investigators searched the package and found it to contain over 1 kilogram of fentanyl tablets designed to look like oxycodone pills.

Authorities launched an investigation into the origins of the parcel and determined that Odubajo had mailed it from Arizona and then traveled to Ohio to retrieve it.  During his arrest, Odubajo was found to be in possession of a firearm, and evidence confirmed that Odubajo’s DNA was also present on the firearm.  Odubajo is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous conviction for drug trafficking in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

The case against Odubajo is scheduled to be tried before a federal jury on March 20, 2023.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James P. Lewis.

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