Lawrence Man Is Latest To Plead Guilty To Participating In Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

          Concord – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Eduard Amparo, 47, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pled guilty to participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.  Amparo is the latest defendant to plead guilty to participating in this substantial drug trafficking case.

          In April of 2018, U.S. Attorney Murray announced that 34 individuals were charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.  According to court documents and statements made in court, a drug trafficking organization that authorities allege was led by Sergio Martinez employed numerous individuals to sell fentanyl to customers from various New England states, including New Hampshire. Some defendants who worked for the Martinez organization distributed multiple 200-gram bags of fentanyl and returned thousands of dollars in proceeds to the organization daily.

          The following individuals have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. They include:

• Miguel Alvarez, 38, of Haverhill, MA, pled guilty on January 31, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2019;
• Eduard Amparo, 47, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on August 29, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for December 16 2019;
• Edward Brailey Delacruz, 25, of Methuen, MA, pled guilty on June 24, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2019;
• Edward Brito, 32, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on July 10, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 4, 2019;
• Luz DeJesus, 34, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on January 31, 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2019;
• Juan Dimel Gil Castillo, 25, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on February 6, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for September 19, 2019;
• Ramon Gil Huma, 26, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on March 11, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 12, 2019;
• Henry Marte, 22, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on January 25, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 4, 2019;
• Raulin Martinez, 37, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on December 7, 2018. His sentencing is scheduled for October 9, 2019;
• Jared Ortega-Peguero, 26, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on December 6, 2018. His sentencing is scheduled for October 18, 2019;
• Suhey Perez, 40, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on May 2, 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 18, 2019;
• Luz Perez DeMartinez, 27, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on February 12, 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2019;
• Wagner Pimentel, 29, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on March 15, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for October 17, 2019;
• Luis Angel Polanco Huma, 23, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on August 14, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 27, 2019.
• Jorge Rodriguez, 22, of Methuen, MA, pled guilty on February 28, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2019;
• Luis Antonio Salomon Polanco, 21, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on March 11, 2019. His sentencing is scheduled for November 18, 2019;
• Juan Rafael Tejada-Jiminez, 39, of Lawrence, MA, pled guilty on November 29, 2018. His sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2019.

          In addition to the defendants listed above, nine other defendants have pleaded guilty and already have been sentenced. An additional defendant, Fernand Miranda, 24, of Haverhill, MA, is expected to plead guilty.  Four defendants remain fugitives.

          Three other defendants, Sergio Martinez, 29, of Lawrence, MA, Steven Lessard, 32, of Lowell, MA, and Julio Colon, 25, of Lawrence, MA, are scheduled to go to trial on October 1, 2019.  These defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty.

          “Interstate fentanyl trafficking poses a serious threat to the health and safety of the citizens of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “We will continue to coordinate with our law enforcement partners to dismantle the drug trafficking organizations that are responsible for bringing this deadly drug into the Granite State.”

          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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Seth R. Aframe.

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