29-year old New Bedford repeat Fentanyl dealer sentenced to prison

A 29-year-old New Bedford man with an extensive history of illegal drug distribution convictions was sentenced last week to serve three to five years in state prison after being convicted of dealing fentanyl and cocaine, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Nicholas Beiruti pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocain, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and assault and battery on a police officer.

On August 31, 2019 at approximately 5:15 pm a Massachusetts State Police trooper stopped a vehicle with no inspection sticker in the area of Rivet and Juniper streets. One of the passengers, this defendant, was acting extremely nervous when police approached the vehicle. The trooper recognized him as a known drug dealer who was on probation for a recent drug distribution conviction.

While the trooper ran a warrant check, he noticed this defendant moving around the back seat in an apparent effort to conceal something. This defendant was also breathing heavily and visibly sweating.

After waiting for police backup, the trooper removed the defendant from the vehicle. During a pat frisk, police noticed a hard object in the backside of the defendant’s pants. The object was consistent with a bag of narcotics. Once the defendant felt the trooper has found the item, he began kicking the trooper and bit his finger.

Once the defendant was secured, troopers were able to remove the object from his pants. The object turned out to be a large bag containing six baggie of fentanyl and nine baggies of crack cocaine. Police also seized more than $3,000 in cash from his pocket.

The defendant has an eight-page criminal record, dating back to 2006, which included numerous arrests and convictions for drug related offenses.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Steve Butts and the three to five year state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Thomas J. Perrino.

“The defendant, whot has a history of drug dealing, continued to sell fentanyl and cocaine while already on probation for selling drugs. This is a defendant who persists in drug dealing and needs to be kept off the street.,” District Attorney Quinn said.