Lowell Woman Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Participating in Heroin Trafficking Conspiracy

             CONCORD – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Gayle McNamara, 57, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, McNamara was one of eight defendants arrested on October 25, 2016 as part of a large investigation of heroin trafficking activities based in and around Lawrence, Massachusetts.  McNamara and some of her co-defendants operated so-called trap houses, which were residences where customers of a drug trafficking organization could meet individuals who were delivering the drug to the customers.  Other co-defendants picked up the drugs at the trap houses and sold them in New Hampshire and elsewhere.

            On May 4, 2017, McNamara pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, heroin.

            “Drug trafficking is causing serious damage to the health and safety of the citizens of the Granite State,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “We are committed to working with our law enforcement colleagues to arrest and prosecute those who are responsible for distributing heroin and other deadly drugs.”

            “Heroin and fentanyl are causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes these poisons,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Today’s sentence not only holds Ms. McNamara accountable for her crimes but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are fueling the opioid epidemic. 

            This matter was investigated by the DEA; Homeland Security Investigations; the Massachusetts State Police; the Haverhill Police Department; the United States Marshals Service; the New Hampshire State Police; the Manchester Police Department; the Lawrence Police Department; the Lowell Police Department, the Methuen Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Drug Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney Donald A. Feith prosecuted the case.

            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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