Naranjito Man that Plead Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño Coll sentenced Dalien Enrique Nieves-Santiago to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release for possession of a pill press die or set used to manufacture counterfeit pills, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. His wife, Zuleyka M. Santiago-Andino also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and possession of a pill press die and will be sentenced at a later date. Nieves-Santiago, 38, and Santiago-Andino, 35, from Naranjito, PR, were charged in a superseding indictment on December 6, 2023, and pleaded guilty on June 5, 2025.

According to court documents, Dalien Enrique Nieves-Santiago pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to: (Count 1) possession of a punch and die set; (Count 2) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl; and (Count 5) possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On April 14, 2023, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in San Juan, Puerto Rico encountered a UPS package while conducting inspections of inbound parcels that were subject to routine border search as they entered the United States. The package, shipped from an address in China, was addressed to defendant Zuleyka M. Santiago-Andino. After an import cargo database search based on the address selector, international shipments records indicated that she received a total of twenty-three (23) shipments between July 3, 2018, and April 8, 2023, at their address in Naranjito, Puerto Rico. All 23 shipments originated from China.

Upon further inspection, CBP Officers discovered a “pill die” set inside the package. A “pill die” is used with a pill press to cut and mark narcotic tablets and other such controlled substances in a pill or tablet form and used in the furtherance of manufacturing and distribution of controlled substances including, but not limited to, pills such as Oxycodone. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan Agents assigned to the AirTAT agreed to take custody of the pill die, in order to conduct a controlled delivery.

The above-mentioned pill die displays the mark “M” and “30”. “30” is an imprint pressed on to Oxycodone Hydrochloride tablets. HSI and DEA agents executed a court authorized search warrant. Among the items seized in the residence included approximately 2 kilograms of a blue colored bonding agent, approximately 302 grams of Xanax pills and a small scale.

HSI agents also recovered two firearms: a 9 mm Smith & Wesson pistol, one 9 mm magazine and eleven (11) 9 mm rounds of ammunition; and a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol, three (3) .40 caliber magazines, and twelve (12) .40 caliber rounds of ammunition next to 1,037 Xanax pills.

A laboratory analysis concluded that a total net weight of 286.51 grams from the 1,037 white rectangular pills with “Xanax” imprinted on one side and “2” on the other side. The substances identified in the pills were fentanyl. A total net weight of 1,921.15 grams of the blue bonding agent typically used to manufacture Oxycodone Hydrochloride tablets with the use of a pill die.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and the Drug Enforcement Administration were in charge of the investigationand their respective Airport Investigations and Tactical Teams (AirTAT).

Assistant United States Attorney Luis A. Valentin from the Asset Recovery, Money Laundering and Transnational Organized Crime Unit prosecuted the case.

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