New Bedford Gym Owner Sentenced For Heroin Trafficking
JAN 25 - BOSTON - - The owner of a New Bedford, Massachusetts gym was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a wide-ranging conspiracy involving heroin distribution throughout Bristol County, Mass. and Providence, R.I.
Sharik Mendes, 39, of New Bedford, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock to 30 months in prison. In October 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin.
In 2015 and 2016, Mendes, the owner and operator of the HEART gym in New Bedford, was receiving large quantities of heroin from two suppliers based in Rhode Island. Mendes then distributed the heroin to lower-level distributors in the New Bedford area. In total, Mendes accepted responsibility for conspiring to distribute between 600 and 700 grams of heroin.
Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England; Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Fall River Police Chief Daniel S. Racine; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro, made the announcement.
