A Dorchester man was hit with a six-year prison sentence today for churning out counterfeit pills, including those spliced with deadly fentanyl, authorities said. Rahelin Reynoso, a 34-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley after pleading guilty last November to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, an opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.
The pill-making operation ran from a Mattapan apartment where Reynoso was nabbed with a stash including over 12 kilos of the lethal drug, according to the Justice Department's press release. Authorities uncovered a haul of over 20 kilos of pills in various colors, a similar amount of loose powder, numerous packages and mailing labels, and not two but three industrial pill presses during a raid last November.
Reynoso would manufacture the counterfeit pharmaceuticals and then distribute them across the US via mail. In addition to fentanyl, officials also found heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine at the premises, as stated by the Justice Department.
The case against Reynoso was brought to a close with the assistance of various agencies, including the Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy hailed the joint effort as an example of law enforcement's ongoing battle against opioid distribution networks. Reynoso's distribution network is now dismantled, adding a small dent to the pervasive scourge of drug abuse and trafficking ravaging the nation.
