United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CONCORD, N.H. - Israel Garcia, 56, of Lawrence, Massachusetts and Maximo Brito-Tejeda, 36, a citizen of the Dominican Republic most recently residing in Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to five counts of distribution of the Schedule II controlled substance fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, announced Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

During a law enforcement investigation, officers received information from a cooperating source indicating that Garcia and an individual later identified as Brito-Tejeda were actively involved in the distribution of drugs in and around the Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire areas. As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers used the cooperating individual and an undercover officer to make controlled purchases of the Schedule II narcotic controlled drug fentanyl from Garcia and Brito-Tejeda on five occasions in August and September, 2015. On each occasion, Garcia and Brito-Tejeda met the cooperating individual and/or the undercover officer in New Hampshire and sold them approximately 10 grams of fentanyl.  On September 25, 2015, officers approached Garcia and Brito-Tejeda in an attempt to arrest them. Garcia fled but was apprehended within seconds and Brito-Tejeda locked himself in his car, emptied bags containing fentanyl onto the floor mat and poured his drink over the drugs. He also attempted to swallow plastic bags containing additional quantities of fentanyl. That same day, the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at the residence occupied by Brito-Tejeda where Garcia and Brito-Tejeda stored and packaged drugs. A scale, packaging materials, and an additional quantity of fentanyl were recovered at this residence.

Garcia and Brito-Tejeda will be detained pending sentencing hearings which are both presently scheduled for July 14, 2016. The statutory maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 40 years in prison and criminal fines of up to $5,000,000. Each distribution charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and criminal fines of up to $1,000,000. The actual sentences will be determined by the court at sentencing after a presentence investigation report is completed.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.