BOSTON — A 30-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in prison Wednesday in federal court for his involvement in a fentanyl-trafficking operation that extended from New York to Peabody, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
James De La Cruz, of New York, pleaded guilty on May 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl, prosecutors said.
As part of his sentencing, De La Cruz will have three years of supervised release following his prison term, prosecutors said.
De La Cruz spoke to a cooperating witness several times and then met with the witness in September and October of 2019 to arrange a large drug shipment from New York to the Boston area. This shipment took place on Oct. 21, 2019, with De La Cruz and his co-defendant, Juan Santos Roque, driving from New York to Peabody with approximately 10 kilograms of fentanyl and six kilograms of heroin in a hidden compartment in Santos Roque’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
After meeting with the cooperating witness, law-enforcement agents arrested both men. Santos Roque pleaded guilty to the drug charges in October 2020 and was sentenced on May 12 to 63 months and prison and two years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
