Rhode Island and Manchester Residents Plead Guilty in Connection with their Leadership Roles in a Drug Trafficking Organization

CONCORD – Two defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord for their roles as dispatchers in a drug conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack announces.

Melissa Rey Ramos, 36, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely, fentanyl and cocaine. Antonio Aguasvivas, 29, of Rhode Island, pleaded guilty on February 27, 2025 to the same charge. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott scheduled Aguasvivas’ sentencing for June 10, 2025, and Rey Ramos’ sentencing for June 25, 2025. On April 26, 2023, the defendants were both charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, along with 19 other defendants. To date, 13 defendants in this conspiracy have been convicted.

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, both defendants played a lead role in a Massachusetts-based drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, particularly Manchester. The organization used a dispatch operation to sell drugs. Customers called a phone line to purchase narcotics and would speak to a dispatcher who would then put the customer in touch with a drug runner. The drug runner then delivered the narcotics to the customer. The defendants were dispatchers for the phone line. Rey Ramos was the lead dispatcher between June and September 2022. Aguasvivas took over in October 2022 and served as dispatcher until March 2023. During this timeframe, law enforcement observed and recorded five sales of fentanyl and cocaine in Manchester conducted by Rey Ramos, and nine sales of fentanyl and cocaine conducted by Aguasvivas. In total, law enforcement seized roughly 175 grams of fentanyl and roughly 75 grams of crack cocaine distributed or intended for distribution by the two defendants during the timeframe of the conspiracy.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three (3) years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

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 Aaron Gingrande is prosecuting the case. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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