A Dominican national, Jairo Collazo, residing in the Bronx, New York, has admitted guilt in a federal court in Boston for his involvement in a fentanyl distribution operation. The hub was based in the Bronx and distributed fentanyl mixed with xylazine to various locations including Massachusetts.
Collazo, aged 36, confessed to conspiracy charges related to distributing and possessing over 400 grams of fentanyl. His sentencing is set for September 17, 2025, by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns. Initially charged in April 2024 through a criminal complaint, Collazo was later indicted.
Court documents reveal that Collazo managed a distribution center from a basement in the Bronx. This center supplied fentanyl to places such as Boston, Fitchburg, Springfield in Massachusetts; Syracuse in New York; and Vermont. Collazo referred to his associates as "employees" who assisted him in packaging fentanyl into glassine wax paper bags for sale. He made trips to Massachusetts twice—once in December 2023 and again in January 2024—to distribute fentanyl to an informant collaborating with law enforcement. On April 12, 2024, authorities searched the Bronx basement and found packaged fentanyl ready for distribution along with materials used for mixing it with other substances and bottles of xylazine.
Previously, Collazo had pleaded guilty to heroin possession charges at the New York Supreme Criminal Court in 2021 and served two years imprisonment.
The charge against Collazo could result in a minimum sentence of ten years up to life imprisonment, supervised release ranging from five years to life, and fines reaching $10 million. Due to his unlawful status in the United States, he faces deportation after serving any imposed sentence. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Stephen Belleau from the Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division. The Fitchburg Police Department and Boston Police Department also contributed valuable assistance to this case which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman.