Federal Agents Bust Leader of Major New England Fentanyl Ring

The leader of a large-scale fentanyl ring in New England, who was making his own fentanyl pills with an industrial-grade pill press inside his Rhode Island home, was sentenced to more than 22 years in federal prison. 

Prosecutors say 36-year-old Jasdrual a/k/a Josh Perez of Cranston, Rhode Island, was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed significant quantities of fentanyl throughout the New England states.  

“Jasdural Perez was running a business that pumped over 200 kilograms of this deadly poison onto the streets of Massachusetts and neighboring states, wreaking havoc and destroying lives. This was not some low-level street dealer. This is a man who bought industrial pill presses to churn out millions of pills containing highly addictive and dangerous fentanyl.” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. 

Fentanyl Disguised as Pharma Grade Pills

According to court documents, Perez led a drug trafficking organization based in Providence, Rhode Island. The organization pressed fentanyl powder into millions of pills disguised as pharmaceutical grade Oxycodone or Percocet that were then sold across state lines. Perez manufactured the fentanyl pills himself and also had multiple people working for him. 

On February 7, 2022, federal agency searched a home owned by Perez and seized two pill presses, kilograms of fentanyl, and over 50,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills. Perez, who fled to New York upon hearing of the searches, was arrested in February 2022 and has been in custody ever since. 

“Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison, especially in the form of pills designed to look like real prescription medication, in order to profit and destroy lives,” said Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau, New England Field Division.

Perez pleaded guilty. Besides the 22 plus years in prison, he was ordered to serve five years of supervised release, pay a $1 million fine, and forfeit the home where the drugs were found.

A co-defendant, Erik Ventura, was also sentenced to ten years for his role in the conspiracy. 

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative.