Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for His Role in Wide-Ranging Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy That Spanned Across the Country

BOSTON - A Rhode Island man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a fentanyl trafficking organization involved in the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl pills that spanned across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Texas and North and South Carolina.

Erik Ventura, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In May 2024, Ventura pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. In July 2024, Jasdrual Perez pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2024. Ventura and Perez were arrested and charged in February 2022 and have remained in custody since.

In September 2019, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) lead by Jasdrual Perez, based in Providence, Rhode Island, known to manufacture large quantities of fentanyl pills designed to appear like pharmaceutical grade oxycodone/Percocet pills and distribute them and other controlled substances throughout the United States. Ventura was a trusted member of the DTO and maintained one of the drug stash locations. Ventura transported cash and kilogram quantities of drugs to and from New York on behalf of the DTO, distributed thousands of fentanyl pills to wholesale customers in Massachusetts and was paid by the DTO for his work as a drug distributor. Ventura also distributed fentanyl and cocaine to his own customers, including one who suffered a non-fatal overdose at a DTO stash house where Ventura resided. In February 2022, two industrial grade pill presses, approximately 20 kilograms of powdered fentanyl, pressed fentanyl pills and other items, including kilograms of pill binder used in the large-scale manufacturing of clandestinely pressed fentanyl pills, were seized.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Special assistance in the investigation was provided by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Providence Resident Agency; the Drug Enforcement Administration, Providence Field Office; Rhode Island State Police; and the Cranston, Warwick and West Warwick Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey E. Weinstein and Kunal Pasricha of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.