Fitchburg Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking

BOSTON – A Fitchburg man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for trafficking fentanyl.

Sebastian Batista, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 63 months in prison and four years of supervised release. In November 2020, Batista was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

On Feb. 28, 2019, Batista participated in multiple phone calls in which he agreed to sell 200 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in a residential area of Waltham. Later that night, Batista arrived at the meeting location and was arrested. Officers searched Batista’s vehicle and found approximately 200 grams of fentanyl in plastic wrapping underneath the driver’s seat. 

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Waltham Police Department and the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.