One Man Pleads Guilty and Another Man is Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Participating in Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

          Concord – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Jepherson Emanuel Cabrera, 18, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 150 months in prison and Juan Rafael Tejada-Jiminez, 28, of Lawrence, Massachusetts pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.

          According to court documents and statements made in court, a drug trafficking organization that authorities allege was led by Sergio Martinez, employed Cabrera, Tejada-Jiminez, and others to sell fentanyl to customers from various New England States, including New Hampshire.  On each day that the defendants worked, the Martinez organization provided them with at least one 200-gram bag of fentanyl and expected them to sell it and return approximately $6,000 in proceeds.

         Tejada-Jiminez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2019.  Cabrera previously pleaded guilty on August 21, 2018.

         “Fentanyl trafficking continues to pose an immediate threat to the lives and safety of the citizens of New Hampshire” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Blocking the introduction of this lethal substance into our state is a top priority of federal law enforcement. Those who choose to distribute fentanyl in the Granite State should understand that they will be arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated.”

          “Fentanyl is causing great damage to our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Those who distribute fentanyl are endangering the safety of the citizens of New Hampshire.  This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, county and state law enforcement efforts in New Hampshire and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

         This investigation was conducted 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.

         The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; the Lowell (MA) Police Department; and the Maine State Police.

         The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Seth R. Aframe.

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