Case Brought by New Hampshire’s Homeland Security Task Force
Dominican national Danaury Espinal-Lara, 46, has been sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to 151 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announces United States Attorney Erin Creegan.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the defendant served as an international source of supply for a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The defendant helped arrange the transport of fentanyl from Mexico into the United States and conspired with one of his co-defendants to store kilogram quantities of fentanyl at an apartment in Massachusetts. A search of the apartment found nearly 7 kilograms of fentanyl.
Several co-conspirators have previously pleaded guilty, or been found guilty by a jury, and sentenced in this case. Manuel Emilio Delaruz-Diaz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Francisco Valdez-Aybar pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Santo Luis Araujo-Guerrero pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Mikael Canario-Batista pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 151 months in prison. Victor Tejada-Gonzalez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Damaso Alberto Diaz-Reynoso pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Ramon Jaquez-Diaz was convicted by a jury after trial and was sentenced to 36 months in prison. Carlos Ozuna pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Ambiory Monegro-Reynoso pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a time served sentence which amounted to nearly 31 months.
“This defendant played a major role in international drug trafficking, coordinating the importation of significant quantities of fentanyl from Mexico that ended up in New Hampshire cities and towns, and will now be spending significant time behind bars for his crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Creegan. “Working with our federal law enforcement partners, we disrupted a major fentanyl distribution network that has now resulted in multiple members of this conspiracy pleading or being found guilty and going to prison. We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who traffic in illicit drugs, causing damage to our communities and fueling addiction. If you deal harmful substances in New Hampshire, we will find you and hold you accountable.”
“Let this sentence serve as a stark warning to international drug traffickers who profit from flooding our communities with deadly fentanyl: no matter where you operate, the DEA will relentlessly pursue you and hold you accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, New England Field Division. “This defendant played a critical role in fueling a drug trafficking conspiracy that pushed dangerous narcotics into communities across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, the DEA will continue to aggressively target the international suppliers, dismantle their distribution networks, and bring those responsible for poisoning our communities to justice.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kennedy prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Hampshire comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS, DEA, ATF, USMS, and DSS with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire.
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