Manchester Man Sentenced To 50 Months For Fentanyl Trafficking

          CONCORD - Nestor Santiago Torres, 33, of Manchester, was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday to 50 months in prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.  

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on the evening of January 31, 2018, a New Hampshire State Trooper made a traffic stop of a Ford Expedition on Interstate 93 in Salem.  The defendant was a passenger in the vehicle.  During a consensual search of the vehicle, a Trooper located a clear plastic package beneath the front passenger’s seat that contained approximately 373.8 grams of fentanyl.  Multiple sandwich bags and a digital scale also were recovered from the motor vehicle.  During a later interview, Torres admitted that the drugs belonged to him and that he had been engaged in the distribution of drugs.

          Torres previously pleaded guilty on March 22, 2019.

          “For drug dealers, the cost of selling fentanyl in New Hampshire is a federal prison term,”said U.S. Attorney Scott Murray. “Those who choose to engage in this business should expect to be investigated, identified, prosecuted, and incarcerated. We will continue to work with New Hampshire State Police, HSI, and all of our law enforcement partners to end this lethal trade.”

          “This man has been convicted of distributing a highly addictive and destructive drug.  Too many lives have been lost to this opioid epidemic and law enforcement is not taking it lightly,” said Jason J. Molina, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Boston.  “Torres will now have plenty of time behind bars to contemplate his actions and there is one less dealer on the streets of New Hampshire.”

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

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