Boston Man Sentenced for Distributing 7,000 Pills Containing Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogue

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced yesterday for a drug distribution offense involving fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue known as para-fluorofentanyl.

Melvin Cordero, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On May 10, 2023, Cordero pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl. 

On March 15, 2022, Cordero delivered 7,000 pills containing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl to an individual who was cooperating with law enforcement. The buy was part of a broader investigation into a drug-trafficking organization based in the Dominican Republic. Cordero delivered the pills to the cooperator in Boston’s South End and was arrested and charged in November 2022. Following Cordero’s arrest, law enforcement seized from him a machine used for manufacturing counterfeit pills that he had attempted to sell to an undercover officer. 

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA New York Field Office, the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.