BOSTON — A 25-year-old Saugus man was sentenced to more than four years in prison Tuesday for his role in a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization that allegedly manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Massachusetts said in a statement.
Justin Westmoreland was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in May, the statement said. Westmoreland was among 23 individuals, many of whom lived on the North Shore, charged last October in connection with a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic counterfeit prescription pills.
All 23 individuals were later indicted, along with two additional alleged co-conspirators, in December 2022.
The organization allegedly distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, among other things, to various individuals in the Lynn area, the statement said, citing court documents. Westmoreland was responsible for distributing approximately 7,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing undisclosed amounts of fentanyl.
Intercepted communications between Westmoreland and his supplier confirmed that Westmoreland was aware the pills he was distributing were counterfeit, the statement added.
Westmoreland is the first individual to be convicted and sentenced in connection with this case.
