United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty on March 1, 2024 in federal court in Boston to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.

Fredis Manuel Guerrero Guzman, 28, 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; one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; and aiding and abetting. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV scheduled sentencing for May 30, 2024.

Guzman was indicted by a federal grand jury along with Melvin Antonio Perez Medina and Fraily Rodriguez Morillo in November 2022.

Between March 2022 and August 2022, Guzman, Morillo and Medina conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, in Lawrence, Woburn, Wilmington and Andover. Specifically, Guzman and Morillo distributed 50 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in April 2022. In July 2022, Morillo and Perez Medina distributed an additional nearly 130 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness on one occasion, as well as over 560 grams of a fentanyl and fentanyl analogue mixture to cooperating witnesses on another occasion.

In August 2022, Perez Medina was arrested and found in possession of nearly two kilograms of a mixture containing fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue hidden inside of a cereal box.

On Jan. 18, 2024, Perez Medina was sentenced to 64 months in prison and three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Morillo pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31, 2024.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, and of possession with intent to distribute and/or distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, each provide for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charges of distribution and/or possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl as well as aiding and abetting provide for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

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. The Massachusetts Department of Correction; the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office; and the Watertown, Reading, Peabody, Hudson, Concord and Waltham Police Departments provided valuable assistance. 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.