United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Boston area drug trafficker was sentenced on July 28, 2022 in federal court in Boston for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

Hassan Monroe, 38, of Quincy, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to six years in prison and four years of supervised release. On Feb. 17, 2022, Monroe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Monroe purchased and distributed wholesale quantities of cocaine and is estimated to have distributed over one kilogram of cocaine and 200 grams of cocaine base.

In June 2020, Monroe was charged along with 23 others as part of Operation Snowfall.  According to the charging documents, beginning in November 2018, law enforcement conducted an investigation into drug trafficking activities by Boston-based street gang members and associates in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. It is alleged that the defendants, through their drug trafficking activities, assumed control over multiple apartments, where they stored, cooked, packaged, and sold drugs. As a result, their activities caused a blight of the development and reduced the quality of life of the other residents.

The investigation also targeted large-scale drug suppliers and their associates. It is alleged that the targets continued to distribute cocaine and cocaine base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. Monroe is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in the large-scale conspiracy case.

Monroe was a significant drug supplier and distributor within the drug conspiracy. Law enforcement intercepted numerous calls in which Monroe negotiated drug deals, coordinated drug meetups, and finalized drug pricing using brief, guarded and drug-coded language. Following the calls, Monroe was subsequently observed meeting with co-conspirators at agreed upon locations in a manner consistent with drug-trafficking activity. Additionally, intercepted communications between Monroe and co-conspirators also showed him plotting violence or discussing the importance of having firearms for protection.

During the investigation, a search of a “stash house” associated with Monroe recovered over 400 grams of cocaine, six firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition. Additionally, 250 grams of cocaine and a loaded firearm were recovered from Monroe’s car and a subsequent search of Monroe’s residence resulted in the recovery of cocaine and two loaded firearms.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Douglas Bartlett, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistance with the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted 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.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.