Lawrence Man Who Concealed More Than Two Kilos of Fentanyl Mix Inside Cereal Box Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison
BOSTON – A Lawrence man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.
Melvin Antonio Perez Medina, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 64 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In October 2023, Perez Medina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue; two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue; and one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue.
Perez Medina was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2022 along with alleged co-conspirators Fraily Rodriguez Morillo and Manuel Fredis Guerrero Guzman.
According to court documents, between March 2022 and August 2022 Perez Medina and, allegedly, Morillo and Guzman, conspired to distribute fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue in and around the Lawrence, Woburn, Wilmington and Andover areas. As part of the conspiracy, Perez Medina distributed fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue on three separate occasions during the summer of 2022. At the time of Perez Medina’s arrest in August 2022, he was found in possession of nearly two kilograms of a mixture containing fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue concealed inside of a cereal box. In total, Perez Medina was responsible for distributing and attempting to distribute over 900 grams of fentanyl and over 2.5 kilograms of a fentanyl analogue.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Correction; the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office; and the Boston, Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Waltham and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
