United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced on Nov. 4, 2022 in federal court in Boston for his role in a Lawrence-based fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.

Elvin Mendoza, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On June 2, 2022, Mendoza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

In June 2021, Mendoza was indicted along with 13 others following an over two-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating out of the Lawrence area. As a result of the investigation, Mendoza was identified as a drug trafficker responsible for distributing over 300 grams of fentanyl throughout Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. In December 2020, approximately $74,000 cash and approximately four kilograms of fentanyl, among other evidence, were seized from members of the DTO in various locations in Billerica, Methuen, Lawrence and Ayden, N.C.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in New England and the Andover, Billerica, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, North Andover, Tewksbury, Wilmington and Salem (N.H.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Rollins’ 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.