Three Charged In Cocaine Conspiracy

BOSTON – Three individuals were charged yesterday in federal court in Boston for their roles in a cocaine conspiracy.

Cesar Rodriguez-Sanquentin, 26, of Methuen; Luis Alfredo Baez, 51; and Luis Mejia Guerrero, 58, both of Boston, were each charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The three men appeared in federal court yesterday and were each ordered detained pending a detention hearing.

According to the charging document, in 2018, federal and state law enforcement began investigating members of a drug trafficking organization in and around the Boston area. The investigation revealed that Baez and Guerrero distributed large quantities of narcotics, including cocaine, from a home base in Dorchester. Law enforcement also identified Rodriguez-Sanquentin as a drug trafficker from the Lawrence area.

On May 13, 2019, agents arrested Rodriguez-Sanquentin and seized over a kilogram of cocaine that he was allegedly on his way to deliver to Baez. Later that day, agents arrested Baez and Guerrero and subsequently executed several search warrants, which resulted in the seizure of cell phones, materials commonly used to package drugs for street level sale, digital scales, and approximately $68,000 in cash.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; and Colonel Kerry Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea Porter of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.