ST. PAUL, Minn. – A man who used stuffed animals to distribute fentanyl in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota has been sentenced in federal court.

Quijuan Hosea Bankhead, 31 of St. Paul, was convicted of being part of a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. Federal prosecutors said between August 2022 and December 2023, Bankhead worked with others to distribute fentanyl. Court documents state several members of the drug ring traveled to Phoenix to obtain fentanyl pills from suppliers, hid the pills inside stuffed animals, and then mailed them to addresses in and around the Twin Cities.

Law enforcement in Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington counties became aware of the trafficking and initiated a joint investigation, which resulted in the seizure of six packages containing over 30,000 gram

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