Groveton Woman Sentenced to 87 Months for Participating in Interstate Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

            CONCORD - Katie Fysh, 33, of Groveton, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for participating in a fentanyl 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 Fysh regularly obtained fentanyl from a source in Lawrence, Massachusetts and then sold that fentanyl in New Hampshire. On both March 17, 2018, and March 18, 2018, a friend of the defendant suffered non-fatal overdoses after using the fentanyl purchased from the source in Lawrence. The defendant was arrested on March 18, 2018, and found with approximately 25 grams of fentanyl on her person. She admitted that she regularly bought fentanyl in Lawrence and distributed it in New Hampshire. 

            Fysh previously pleaded guilty on June 12, 2019.

            “Interstate fentanyl traffickers introduce a lethal drug for distribution on the streets of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In this case, the defendant followed the very familiar pattern of purchasing the drug in Lawrence and then transporting it into our state. The penalty of better than seven years in prison should serve as a deterrent to others who would choose to follow a similar path.”

            “Fentanyl is causing great damage to our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Those who distribute fentanyl are endangering the safety of the citizens of New Hampshire.  This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, state and federal law enforcement efforts in New Hampshire.”

            This investigation was conducted 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.

            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 was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky, Seth R. Aframe and Debra M. Walsh.

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