Massachusetts Man Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking

          CONCORD, N.H. - Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced that, Rafael Delacruz, a/k/a “Simba,” 55, previously of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was sentenced on Friday to serve twelve years in federal prison for selling heroin and fentanyl in southern New Hampshire. 

          According to court documents and statements made in court, Delacruz sold heroin and fentanyl in hand-to-hand exchanges with cooperating individuals inside a retail store in Plaistow, New Hampshire on July 8, October 20, and November 19, 2015.  Delacruz also admitted to selling fentanyl to a cooperating individual on June 22, 2016, inside a retail store in Epping, New Hampshire.  Each of the transactions was surveilled and recorded by law enforcement officers and, in at least one instance, on a store’s security surveillance video. 

          Delacruz pleaded guilty on August 18, 2017, to three counts of distributing a controlled substance.  After his release from prison, Delacruz will be required to serve a six-year term of supervised release. 

          “Those who come to New Hampshire to distribute deadly drugs will be identified and prosecuted,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley.  “Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are working hard each day to stop the flow of fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs from coming into the Granite State.  I salute the teamwork of the officers who assisted in this investigation.  Thanks to their efforts, this drug trafficker will no longer be damaging our community.”

          “Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels across New England and those suffering from opioid addiction need access to treatment and recovery,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson.  “But those responsible for distributing lethal drugs like heroin and fentanyl to the citizens of New Hampshire need to be held accountable for their actions.  DEA is committed to aggressively pursuing Drug Trafficking Organizations or individuals who are coming from out of state to distribute these poisons in order to profit and destroy people’s lives.  In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic DEA and its local, state and federal partners are committed to bringing to justice anyone who distributes these drugs.”

          This matter was investigated by the Portsmouth (N.H.) Tactical Diversion Squad of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Berwick (Maine) Police Department with the help of the York (Maine) and Ogunquit (Maine) police departments.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse.

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