Two Buffalo Men Arrested on Fentanyl Conspiracy Charges
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, New York Division announced today that Alexis Lopez, 27, and Ivan Irizarry-Ramos, 35, both of Buffalo, NY, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. The charge carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Rudroff and Charles M. Kruly, who are handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on March 1, 2021, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service executed a search warrant on a Priority Mail Express Parcel, which contained approximately ½ a kilogram of a substance containing a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine. The drugs inside the parcel were replaced with sham material, and an undercover agent delivered the parcel to an address on Leroy Avenue in Buffalo, where it was accepted by defendant Lopez. After the parcel was taken inside, agents were alerted that the parcel had been opened. Following that alert, a search warrant was executed and agents discovered Lopez and defendant Irizarry-Ramos together in an apartment, from which they also recovered a digital scale, plastic packaging materials, and an electric blender with white powdery substance inside.
The defendants made an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and are being held pending a detention hearing on March 11, 2021.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, and the DEA Buffalo Resident Office.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
