Two Lowell Men Charged with Heroin and Fentanyl Trafficking

BOSTON – Two Lowell men were indicted today in federal court in Boston for heroin and fentanyl trafficking.

Joshua Ramos-Rios, 30, and Anderson Daniel Jorge Cruz, 20, were indicted for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and fentanyl. Ramos-Rios and Jorge Cruz were arrested on Jan. 23, 2019, and charged by complaint. They have been in custody since.

According to the charging documents, on Jan. 23, 2019, federal, state, and local law enforcement seized over one kilogram of suspected heroin and fentanyl from Ramos-Rios and Jorge Cruz in an undercover operation. Ramos-Rios is currently on parole in Massachusetts for drug and firearm offenses, and Jorge Cruz has an outstanding warrant for homicide in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and fentanyl provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, a minimum of five years of supervised release, and a fine of $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; Lowell Police Superintendent Raymond Kelly Richardson; 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.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.