Dominican National Sentenced for Fentanyl Distribution

BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Lawrence pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for distributing fentanyl.

Enel Alfredo Mendez-Aquino, 30, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl and was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 12 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Mendez-Aquino will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. Mendez-Aquino was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 1, 2019.

On June 11, 2019, federal agents observed Mendez-Aquino throw objects into a SUV parked on Abbott Street in Lawrence. During a subsequent stop of the SUV, the occupants of the vehicle admitted that they had just purchase drugs from Mendez-Aquino. Law enforcement officers arrested Mendez-Aquino, who has been in custody since. A lab test confirmed that the drugs were fentanyl and cocaine.

This case is part of a coordinated enforcement operation in the Merrimack Valley called “Devil’s Highway.” The operation targeted the distribution of opioids, including fentanyl and heroin, and resulted in charges against a total of 40 people for federal drug offenses, with at least a dozen more individuals facing state charges.

United States Attorney Andrew Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun prosecuted the case.