Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin and Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy

            CONCORD – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today that Miguel Arias Velasquez, 21, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to participating in a heroin and fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. 

            According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least January of 2017 until July of 2017, Arias-Velasquez made deliveries of heroin and fentanyl to customers of a drug organization working out of a residence on Water Street in Lawrence.  Customers, including customers from New Hampshire, would call to order drugs and Arias-Velasquez and others would drive to locations in Methuen and Salisbury, Massachusetts to deliver the drugs. 

            A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 16, 2018.

            “Those who choose to distribute heroin and fentanyl endanger their customers as well as the general public. Maintaining public safety requires that they be prosecuted aggressively,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “We work closely each day with our law enforcement partners to target those who seek to profit from the sale of these deadly substances.”

            This matter was investigated by the DEA, the Massachusetts State Police, the United States Marshals Service, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Lawrence Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Donald A. Feith prosecuted the case.

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