Lawrence, Massachusetts Man Sentenced To 57 Months In Federal Prison For Conspiring To Distribute Multiple Kilograms Of Heroin

          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Felix Portes, age 57, of Lawrence, Massachusetts was sentenced to serve 57 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin.

          Court documents and statements in court showed that after a lengthy investigation, law enforcement officers arrested Portes and Jonathan Cruz-Marte on March 12, 2015, after they arrived at the Rockingham Mall in Salem to sell approximately two kilograms of heroin to an individual assisting in the investigation. The investigation determined that Portes and Cruz Marte were part of a larger Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization that, over the course of several years, supplied Keene-based drug traffickers with large quantities of heroin for redistribution in and around the Keene area.

          Portes previously pleaded guilty on January 15, 2016. Cruz Marte pleaded guilty on November 23, 2016, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11, 2017.

          “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to address the heroin and fentanyl epidemic in New Hampshire by continuing to target the drug trafficking organizations that are responsible for bringing large quantities of these deadly drugs into New Hampshire. I commend the cooperative efforts that led to this significant prosecution,” said Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley.

          After serving his 57-month prison sentence, Portes will be on supervised release for a period of three years.

          The investigation was conducted by the following agencies: (1) Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; (2) New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; (3) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; (4) New Hampshire State Police; (5) Keene, New Hampshire Police Department; (6) Richmond, New Hampshire Police Department; and (7) Salem, New Hampshire Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis prosecuted the case.

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