United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Dominican national living in Boston has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for distributing fentanyl.

Santo Rafael Franco Andujar, formerly charged as “John Doe,” was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In November 2024, Franco Andujar was convicted by a federal jury of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. 

In June and July of 2021, Franco Andujar sold over 100 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Lawrence which was captured on a recording device. In September 2021, Franco Andujar was arrested by law enforcement in possession of over 100 grams of fentanyl. As part of the investigation, law enforcement surveilled the defendant traveling to an apartment in Boston prior to selling fentanyl to the cooperating witness. On the day of Franco Andujar’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at the apartment where over a kilogram of fentanyl hidden inside a wall was recovered.

Franco Andujar was originally charged in October 2021 under a pseudonym because he was using the stolen identity of a Puerto Rican man at the time of his arrest. After his conviction, Franco Andujar agreed to reveal his true identity to law enforcement. Franco Andujar is a Dominican national and is present in the United States illegally. Franco Andujar has agreed to provide complete and truthful information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that information will be used to determine Franco Andujar’s eligibility for deportation proceedings.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was proved by the Lawrence Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Lauren A. Graber prosecuted the case.