United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CONCORD, N.H. – Brian D. Boyle Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New England Division and United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today that Raul Vantroi Arias Ruiz, 36, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.  

According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least Dec. 6, 2016, through May 2, 2017, the defendant arranged for the sale of fentanyl to customers in New Hampshire, using his co-defendant, Yossi Rafael Rincon-Ramirez, to make drug deliveries.   Four of the fentanyl sales he arranged during that time period were made to an undercover DEA agent in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Based on these drug buys, law enforcement officers arrested the defendant at his residence in Methuen, Massachusetts on May 2, 2017.  After obtaining a search warrant for the residence, which included two adjacent apartments on the second floor of the building, law enforcement officers found approximately $941,994 in U.S. currency and two firearms, as well as approximately 90 grams of fentanyl, 20 grams of heroin, and 30 pounds of marijuana.  The $941,994 was forfeited to the United States in a civil forfeiture proceeding.  As part of his plea agreement, Arias Ruiz also forfeited the firearms.

Arias Ruiz, who pleaded guilty on July 25, 2018, still faces state charges in Massachusetts related to the drugs and firearms seized from the Methuen residence.  He is likely to be deported to the Dominican Republic after serving his sentence.  On April 23, 2018, Rincon-Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl and four counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  Rincon-Ramirez was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison on Aug. 23, 2018. 

“Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison in order to profit and destroy lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle.  “Illegal drug distribution ravages the very foundations of our families and communities so every time we take fentanyl off the streets, lives are saved. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, county and state law enforcement efforts in New Hampshire.”

“Trafficking in fentanyl has caused great damage to the citizens of our state,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In order to stop the distribution of this deadly drug and protect the public, we will seek substantial prison sentences for those who profit from its sale.  By working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to investigate, arrest and prosecute traffickers, we will improve public safety in the Granite State.”

This matter was investigated by the DEA, with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and the police departments of Hudson, NH, Nashua, NH, and Methuen, MA.