United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CONCORD, N.H. – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that Meredith Willey, 38, of Groveton, N.H., was sentenced to serve 65 months in prison for participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents and statements made in court, as a result of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that on March 1, 2018, an individual intended to travel from New Hampshire to a location in Lawrence, Mass., to purchase 250 grams of a controlled substance. Agents conducted surveillance in the area of the transaction and observed a known drug trafficker get in the back seat of the car and exit a few minutes later. The vehicle left Massachusetts and agents followed it directly to New Hampshire.

The agents informed a New Hampshire state trooper patrolling Interstate Route 93 about their surveillance observations. The trooper stopped the vehicle for traffic violations and identified Willey as the driver. Willey subsequently admitted that she and her co-conspirator went to Lawrence to buy “dope.” Willey consented to a search of the car and signed a consent to search form. The troopers found a hidden compartment containing approximately 240 grams of fentanyl. Willey admitted that she and the co-conspirator purchased fentanyl in Lawrence and resold the drug in New Hampshire. After a consent search of the defendant’s and her co-conspirator’s residence, law enforcement seized $11,000 in drug proceeds and five firearms. Willey previously pleaded guilty on Sept. 24, 2018.

“Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison,” said Special Agent Boyle. “Today’s sentence not only holds Ms. Willey accountable for her crimes, but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are fueling the opioid epidemic.”

“Interstate fentanyl traffickers will be arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “The law enforcement community in New Hampshire is united in its determination to stop the flow of fentanyl into the Granite State. By aggressively prosecuting the traffickers who bring this deadly drug into New Hampshire, we are seeking to protect all of our state’s citizens.”

The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA, New Hampshire State Police, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Nashua Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office, United States Marshals Service, United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Manchester Police Department, Lisbon Police Department, Littleton Police Department, Seabrook Police Department, Haverhill (Mass.) Police Department, Methuen (Mass.) Police Department, Lowell (Mass.) Police Department and the Maine State Police.

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