United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Lawrence man has plead guilty in federal court in Boston to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.

Melvin Antonio Perez Medina, 33, 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. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Jan. 18, 2024.

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 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.

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, provide for a sentence of at least 10 years and no greater than life, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10,000,000. The charge of distribution and/or possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least five years in prison and no greater than 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.          

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 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 is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.