Lawrence Man Sentenced in Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced on Sept. 9, 2022 in federal court in Boston to fentanyl trafficking.

Saury Rodriguez-Ruiz, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On May 26, 2022, Rodriguez-Ruiz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

Rodriguez-Ruiz was indicted along with his co-conspirator, Danybelkis Vasquez-Rodrigue, in January 2021. On Aug. 30, 2022, Vasquez-Rodrigue was convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 13, 2022.

In November 2020, law enforcement began an investigation into Rodriguez-Ruiz, who had been identified as a Lawrence-based drug supplier. On Nov. 24, 2020, Rodriguez-Ruiz distributed nearly one kilogram of fentanyl to a cooperating witness. In exchange for the fentanyl, the cooperating witness made two payments to Rodriguez-Ruiz’s associates in December 2020. The first payment of $10,000 was to an associate of Rodriguez-Ruiz and the second payment of $32,000 was to Rodriguez-Ruiz’s co-conspirator, Vasquez-Rodrigue.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Strike Force including the Norfolk County Sherriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.