A man from Providence, Rhode Island, has been sentenced in a Boston federal court for leading a drug trafficking organization. The group was active in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara, aged 38, was handed a 10-year prison sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, followed by five years of supervised release. Following his sentence, Ortiz-Alcantara faces deportation.
In December 2023, Ortiz-Alcantara pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl. He conducted these activities between roughly February 2021 and July 2022, using a stash house in Fall River, Massachusetts, to manage operations. In July 2022, authorities seized more than 12 kilograms of fentanyl and equipment used in distribution during a search of the location.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira; and Fairhaven Police Chief Michael J. Myers made the announcement today,” stated the press release. The Massachusetts State Police and various local police departments provided assistance in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. This operation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces initiative, which endeavors to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States.