Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking

            CONCORD - Jason Belmer, 30, of Haverhill, Massachusetts pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 31, 2017, the defendant was stopped by a member of the Salem Police Department after running a red light. The officer observed various signs that the defendant was driving while impaired. Another officer arrived on scene and observed drug paraphernalia in plain view in the front seat of the car. This observation prompted officers to ask the defendant for consent to search the car, at which time the defendant attempted to flee the traffic stop. A struggle ensued and the defendant fought with police. After the defendant was taken into custody, officers received a search warrant for the car and recovered approximately 1,191 grams of cocaine and approximately $59,775 dollars in cash. 

            Belmer is scheduled to be sentenced on January 16, 2019.   The cash has been administratively forfeited to the United States.

            “Those who seek to profit from the sales of drugs will be aggressively prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “I commend the hard work of the Salem police officers whose efforts got over a kilogram of cocaine off the streets.  We will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to stop the distribution of illegal drugs in the Granite State.”    

            This matter was investigated by the Salem Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana L. Konesky.

            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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