A man from Rhode Island entered a guilty plea in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a sprawling fentanyl distribution network that reached several states, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced yesterday. Jasdrual a/k/a "Josh" Perez, 36, admitted to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. The plea comes ahead of the scheduled sentencing on November 12, 2024, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
The investigation, which began in September 2019, revealed that Perez operated out of Providence, Rhode Island, leading an organization responsible for manufacturing fake pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone/Percocet pills containing fentanyl and distributing them across the U.S. Perez used encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and FaceTime to quickly conduct his drug trafficking activities. During a 2022 raid, law enforcement seized two industrial pill presses, about 20 kilograms of powdered fentanyl, pressed pills, and pill binder material from the manufacturing site. Over $62,000 in drug proceeds were also found at Perez's home.
Authorities have tied these operations to a larger network that trafficked the drugs through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Perez's actions carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and could extend up to life imprisonment. He also faces possible supervised release for a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime, along with fines potentially reaching $10 million.
The case was part of a broader initiative by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force aimed at dismantling high-level crime outfits. The success of these operations hinges on a focused effort to combine intelligence and resources to target the most significant threats to public safety.
