Dominican national sentenced for fentanyl conspiracy that reached to Cape Cod


BOSTON, MA
– A Dominican national residing in Roxbury with lawful permanent resident status was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a wide-ranging narcotics trafficking operation that included distributing counterfeit prescription pain pills containing fentanyl throughout Boston and Cape Cod.

Santiago Pena, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to two years in prison and five years of supervised release. In December 2017, Pena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

A lengthy wiretap investigation revealed that James Ramirez, an individual charged separately, supplied large-quantities of fentanyl and heroin to Kevin and Alex Fraga, drug dealers on Cape Cod. Ramirez also sold fentanyl pills designed to look like legitimate prescription oxycodone pills. Wiretap intercepts revealed that Ramirez was distributing fentanyl pills in batches of 100 to numerous other drug dealers. Over 2,500 fentanyl pills were recovered as a result of Ramirez’s arrest in late August.

Pena brokered fentanyl pill deals on Ramirez’s behalf, helping to connect Ramirez with a fentanyl pill supplier. On multiple occasions, Ramirez traded used cars for a combination of cash and fentanyl pills in deals that Pena helped arrange.

Alex Fraga pleaded guilty in August 2017, and was sentenced on June 10, 2019, to 131 months in prison. Kevin Fraga and Ramirez pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 8, 2019, and Oct. 1, 2019, respectively.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Brewster, Harwich, Sandwich, Mashpee, Chatham, Yarmouth, and Barnstable Police Departments and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Philip Cheng of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the cases.



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