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Ozair Pereira admitted to four counts of distributing the synthetic opioid and conspiracy to distribute it this week, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Investigators said Pereira was out on parole when they caught him and another man selling the drug in February and March 2021. A court previously convicted Pereira in 2018 after police recorded him ordering heroin from a drug supplier over the phone, authorities said. That arrest was part of a massive sting operation that netted several suspected drug dealers.
A judge on Thursday, Sept. 29, sentenced him to two years in prison for violating his parole, the prosecutor said. Pereira will have to wait until December to find out what he'll serve for his latest conviction. But he has an idea of what his punishment will be.
Sentencing guidelines say he must serve a minimum of 10 years behind bars and pay an $8 million fine since he is a repeat offender, the US Attorney's office said. Each distributing fentanyl charge carries a potential 30-year sentence and a $2 million fine.
US Attorney for Massachusetts Rachel Rollins said opioids — and fentanyl in particular — continue to be a major problem in the state and remain a priority for law enforcement.
“Today, Mr. Pereira admitted to his role in a conspiracy that sought to profit off addiction and harm,” she said. “Even more troubling, Mr. Pereira engaged in this criminal conduct while on federal supervised release for a prior drug trafficking conviction. ... Drug traffickers, especially repeat offenders, be warned – you will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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