United States Drug Enforcement Administration

AUG 25 - CONCORD, N.H. - Christopher DeCoste, 20, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to federal charges of possessing over 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division and United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

According to court documents and statements at the plea hearing, on April 14, 2016, the law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence in Londonderry, New Hampshire to search for evidence of the defendant’s drug trafficking activity.  During the search, approximately 800 grams of fentanyl were recovered, as well as $42,850 in United States currency.  Officers also found a .22 Walther handgun with a magazine and two rounds of ammunition hidden in a wall.  DeCoste later admitted that he intended to sell the drugs that were seized and that he had the gun for protection in case he was robbed.  United States District Judge Joseph DiClerico scheduled sentencing for November 30, 2016.

According to statistics maintained by the State of New Hampshire, over half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were related to fentanyl.  Because a single gram of heroin or fentanyl can be used to create multiple individual dosage units that can be sold “on the street,” the quantity of fentanyl involved in this case could have generated a large number of individual doses of fentanyl, each of which had the potential to cause a fatal overdose.

Multiple departments and agencies were involved in the investigation and prosecution, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Manchester Police Department and the Londonderry Police Department.