The indictment against thirteen people for their involvement in a complex drug distribution network that crossed state lines was unsealed as part of a major crackdown on drug trafficking using digital means. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that this network, which distributed cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, used social media messaging apps to make its activities easier.
As evidence of the drug trafficking conspiracy’s wide-ranging scope, the indictment, as described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, lists suspects from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Drugs were allegedly meant to be redistributed mostly in New Hampshire and Maine as part of high-volume drug deals that were organized over the course of a year via social media and text messages. Six of these individuals have already been taken into custody by law enforcement, three are still at large, and the remaining four are being held in state custody on unrelated crimes.
Jane Young, the U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, described the concerted efforts that resulted in these indictments because she recognized the seriousness of the situation. “During the investigation, law enforcement made several undercover purchases of fentanyl, leading to the seizures of substantial drug quantities and the interruption of a significant distribution chain,” Young stated. According to the US Attorney’s Office, officers allegedly made eight purchases from a single social media account connected to the narcotics trafficking group, obtaining between 97 and 496 grams of fentanyl per transaction.
Notably, six people were charged with trying to swap guns for drugs, indicating that firearms were also involved in this illegal activity. Law enforcement officers closely monitored these discussions and transactions, which resulted in a thorough interception of these illegal activities. In order to gather historical documents pertaining to the DTO’s account that was used to arrange the drug transactions, the investigation also involved executing search warrants on the servers of social media platforms.
Those indicted include Robert A. Arrington, who has not yet been arrested, and Pedro Miguel Ravelo Guzman. A number of other defendants are in state or federal jail, while Riley J. Paletta has been released on pretrial supervision. The defendants could get penalties of up to 20 years in jail for these serious offenses. Given the seriousness of the conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled narcotics, some people are subject to minimum obligatory sentences of five years in prison, depending on their level of involvement.
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a cooperative effort including federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations, are investigating this case. While several law enforcement agencies from both New Hampshire and Maine have been acknowledged for their crucial assistance during the investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar Vega is leading the prosecution. The defendants are deemed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court because the information in the charging documents is currently only allegations.
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