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Press Release

Goffstown Man Sentenced to 96 Months for Participating in Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Hampshire

            CONCORD - Jonathan Felch, 37, of Goffstown, was sentenced serve to 96 months in federal prison for participating in a fentanyl drug trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, during an ongoing drug trafficking investigation that included court-authorized wiretaps, agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that Felch regularly obtained fentanyl from a source in Lawrence, Massachusetts and then sold the fentanyl in New Hampshire.

            On March 14, 2018, investigators learned that Felch had ordered 20 grams of fentanyl and was traveling on Interstate 93.  The New Hampshire State Police subsequently stopped a vehicle for motor vehicle violations in which Felch was a passenger.  Felch later admitted that he had drugs in his possession and provided the troopers with approximately 18 grams of fentanyl.

            Again, on April 6, 2018, investigators learned that Felch intended to travel from New Hampshire to Lawrence to purchase drugs.  Agents conducted surveillance of Felch and observed him meet with another individual in Lawrence.  Later that day, Felch returned to New Hampshire in a vehicle that was stopped in Manchester for a motor vehicle violation.  Officers later located approximately 23 grams of fentanyl and a digital scale in the vehicle. Over the course of the wiretap investigation, Felch ordered more than 600 grams of fentanyl.

            Felch previously pleaded guilty on May 30, 2019.

            “This case once again highlights the familiar Lawrence to New Hampshire fentanyl distribution route,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “The 8 year prison term should serve as a warning to those inclined to introduce this drug into the Granite State. Traffickers should realize that we will continue to seek substantial prison terms for those who engage in this conduct.”

            “The state of New Hampshire is faced with an opioid crisis unlike ever before,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Fentanyl is causing great damage to our communities and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison in order to profit and destroy lives.”

             The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; the Lowell (MA) Police Department; and the Maine State Police.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky, Seth R. Aframe, and Debra M. Walsh.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  

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Updated September 12, 2019

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Opioids
Press Release Number: 19-168