Matthew Ramos, a 26-year-old from Malden, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine and possessing controlled substances in federal court on Tuesday, October 17. This follows his December 2021 indictment with co-defendant Igor Desouza after law enforcement found drugs and a firearm at their residence. According to his plea agreement, Ramos is set to serve 90 months in prison. Desouza also pleaded guilty on August 31; his sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2023 reports the Department of Justice.
The duo's arrest in May 2021 unveiled thousands of fentanyl and methamphetamine pills, a firearm, over 200 ammunition rounds, and other controlled substances in their residence. The charges they face, which include distribution and intent to distribute a controlled substance, carry a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, potential lifetime supervised release, and a fine up to $5 million.
Ramos and Desouza's guilty pleas are the result of rigorous investigative work by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division, the Malden Police Department, and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, according to the Justice Department.
