Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Possession

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston today to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

Yoan Paniagua, 24, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for Jan. 9, 2020. Paniagua was arrested and charged in March 2019.

On March 12, 2019, law enforcement stopped Paniagua, who was driving on Route 495 in Andover, and seized approximately 500 grams of fentanyl from his vehicle.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, a minimum of five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division; and Colonel Kerry Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.