DES MOINES, Iowa – Two Des Moines men were sentenced last week (July 11, 2025), to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says aaccording to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, in the summer of 2023, 43-year-old Ajang Malou Wour, began trafficking fentanyl pills, shortly after he was discharged from a term of federal supervised release.  By September 2024, Wour began bringing trafficking fentanyl powder. Within an 18-month period, Wour obtained and distributed over 60,000 fentanyl pills and 40 ounces of fentanyl powder. 22-year-old Omar Mohamed Nurani received fentanyl pills from Wour frequently and sold the pills to other distributors and customers.

In June 2024, Wour sold Nurani fentanyl pills, which Nurani then to a customer. The victim used the pills, overdosed, and died. After the victim’s death, Wour and Nurani continued to sell fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder. Nurani obtained and distributed over 2,000 fentanyl pills and eight ounces of fentanyl powder. Wour was sentenced to 144 months in prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release. Nurani was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by a four-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department, with assistance from the Ankeny Police Department and the Mid-Iowa Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Authorities say Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Fentanyl deaths for youth ages 15 to 24 more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about One Pill Can Kill.