Leader of Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to More Than 8 Years in Federal Prison

CONCORD – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Concord in connection with a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.

Juan Ramon Soto Baez, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott to 100 months in federal prison.  In February, Soto Baez plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely, cocaine and fentanyl. He was charged along with 20 other defendants in April 2023. To date, 15 defendants involved in the conspiracy have been convicted.

“The defendant led a major drug trafficking organization in our region, pumping deadly narcotics into our communities and profiting off of addiction,” said U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack. “Today’s sentence ensures that he can no longer fuel the devastation cause by methamphetamine and fentanyl. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to disrupt these organizations and combat the spread of these narcotics before they claim more lives in the Granite State.”

“As the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization, Juan Ramon Soto Baez pumped poison into Granite State neighborhoods for over four years, trafficking fentanyl and cocaine from Massachusetts into New Hampshire at a time when the number of drug related deaths in the state was at an all-time high,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “This lengthy prison sentence removes this career criminal from the streets and highlights the FBI’s ongoing commitment to identify and disrupt those seeking to bring dangerous narcotics into our communities.”

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, the defendant was the leader of a Massachusetts-based drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, particularly Manchester, between September of 2019 and April of 2023.  The organization was run like a business, operating “dispatch” telephone lines where customers could call in to order narcotics. The defendant or a trusted member of the conspiracy working for him would take customer orders on the phone, and then he would either deliver the order himself or send a runner to conduct the drug sale at an arranged meeting location.

During the timeframe of the conspiracy, law enforcement agents observed and recorded the defendant and his co-conspirators selling fentanyl and cocaine on nineteen occasions. On the day of the defendant’s arrest, a search of a residence associated with the conspiracy yielded $15,000 and drug ledgers. A search of a vehicle used by the drug trafficking organization yielded roughly 94 grams of fentanyl and 196 grams of cocaine packaged in small baggies for distribution.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kennedy prosecuted the case. 

This effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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