Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

            CONCORD - Yerfinson Gomez, 28, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, Gomez was identified in January 2019 as a member of a fentanyl trafficking organization based in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  On March 7, 2019, after undercover communications with Gomez’s drug supplier, Gomez met an undercover officer in Methuen, Massachusetts and sold six “fingers” (ten gram quantities) of fentanyl.  On March 14, 2019, Gomez again met an undercover officer in Methuen and sold him four fingers of fentanyl.  Finally, on March 20, 2019, in Methuen, Gomez provided another runner with over 12 fingers of fentanyl, some of which was to be used for a customer in New Hampshire.  The runner brought the drugs to Manchester and sold nine fingers to an undercover.  The runner later delivered the cash from the sale to Gomez in Methuen, and Gomez paid the runner one finger of fentanyl for making the delivery.  Agents arrested Gomez shortly afterwards as he drove away with the cash.

            Gomez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27, 2020.

            “Interstate fentanyl trafficking has caused tremendous damage to communities throughout New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “It is of vital importance that we stop the flow of this lethal substance into our state. Accordingly, we will continue to work closely with all of our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute the drug dealers who are responsible for its transportation and sale.”

            “While Gomez was one part of a bigger drug trafficking operation, he remains accountable for his individual actions as proven in the course of our investigation,” said Jason J. Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s, Homeland Security Investigations, (HSI) Boston.  “Together with our New Hampshire law enforcement partners, HSI is fighting the ongoing threat posed by fentanyl and opioid dealers like Gomez that has produced such devastating impacts in the lives of so many in our communities.”  

            This matter was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s, Homeland Security Investigations, Manchester Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.

            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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