Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution

            WASHINGTON – Edward Steven Monge, 22, of Beltsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to participating in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Monge pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

             U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes set a sentencing date for May 29. Monge faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, but the plea agreement calls for a sentence of 87 to 108 months. The prison term will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

             According to the government’s evidence, between February and August 2023 Monge sold more than 4,500 pills containing fentanyl to Jennifer Echeverria Flores, 26, of Silver Spring, MD. Echeverria Flores then sold the pills to a DEA undercover agent on five separate occasions between February 17 and July 19, 2023, in the District and Maryland and the District of Columbia. The pills were blue, marked “M” on one side, and “30” on the other. The total approximate weight of the pills was 479 grams.  These pills are designed to look like authentic oxycodone “M30” pills, but instead contain fentanyl.

            Echeverria Flores was arrested on July 31, 2023. On August 3, 2023, law enforcement arrested Monge in Hyattsville, MD, and found him carrying about 1,102 pills, which field tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. As part of the Plea Agreement, Monge also admitted that he possessed a firearm in connection with his unlawful distribution of fentanyl.

             Echeverria Flores pleaded guilty in December to the drug conspiracy charge. She is scheduled to be sentenced March 19.

            This case was investigated by the DEA – Washington Division.

            The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Javier Urbina and Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Henek, of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section. Valuable assistance was provided by former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Leiter.