A man described as holding "a high position in the drug distribution hierarchy" has received a term topping 12 years stemming from two law enforcement raids in the Twin Cities area that yielded more than 17,000 pills of suspected fentanyl and $45,000 in cash.

Thomas A. Gentry Jr., 35, of St. Cloud was sentenced Tuesday in Anoka County District Court after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated drug crime in connection with the seizures late last year at a rented storage unit in Maple Grove and a home in Coon Rapids.

At the time Gentry was charged, Assistant County Attorney Paul Ostrow said that "the circumstances of the offense reveal the offender to have occupied a high position in the drug distribution hierarchy."

The charges against Gentry said his drug distribution network in Minnesota reached beyond the Twin Cities to Onamia to the north and St. Cloud to the west.

According to the criminal complaint:

In August 2022, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force and tribal police were investigating a large-scale distribution of counterfeit M Box 30 pills — which commonly are laced with fentanyl — on the Mille Lacs Reservation and elsewhere in the state. Investigators connected text messages about drug trafficking and the pills to Gentry's cellphone.

On Oct. 3, 2022, investigators saw a BMW SUV "associated with [Gentry]" meet in St. Cloud on a road with an occupant of another vehicle. Law enforcement trailed that vehicle to Onamia and pulled it over. A "large quantity" of counterfeit M Box 30 pills were seized. The vehicle's occupant confirmed they were laced with fentanyl, and that person's cellphone held messages confirming they were bought from Gentry.

In November 2022, investigators saw Gentry drive to a Public Storage facility in the 9500 block of Zachary Lane in Maple Grove, where he rented a unit. An investigator saw on surveillance video Gentry bringing and removing backpacks and other items from the unit.

On Dec. 20, the first of the two raids occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. at the storage facility, where more than 12,800 of the counterfeit pills were seized along with $38,500 in cash.

The second raid targeted a home shortly after 12:10 p.m. in the 800 block of NW. 126th Lane, where Gentry was known to live, and confiscated about 4,300 of the same pills from a safe in the kitchen. Also seized from the home was nearly 1 1⁄3 pounds of marijuana and three-fourths of an ounce of cocaine.

Gentry was sitting nearby outside during the search of the home, where he gave law enforcement a fake name and date of birth. Investigators confirmed his true identity, arrested him and collected $6,592 from a bag he was holding.