New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to trafficking fentanyl.
Eric Encarnacion Medina, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of Fentanyl and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of Fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for March 2, 2022. Encarnacion Medina was indicted on April 7, 2021.
On Jan. 28, 2021, after coordinating with a source of supply outside the United States, Encarnacion Medina drove to Massachusetts and sold approximately one kilogram of Fentanyl to a cooperating witness in a parking lot in Watertown.
The charges of conspiracy and distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.
