Boston Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for fentanyl trafficking.

Andres Arias, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On Jan. 21, 2021, Arias pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and five counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Arias and co-defendant Cristian Lara Diaz conspired to distribute fentanyl and engaged in five separate controlled sales of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Boston between April 2017 and January 2018. 

On Jan. 12, 2021, Lara Diaz was sentenced to 63 months in prison and four years of supervised release.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.