A former North Andover man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Boston for his role in a, what prosecutors described as, a “large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy involving fentanyl, cocaine and other controlled substances that spanned across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine and Puerto Rico.”
Thirty-four-year-old Elvis DeJesus was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to 15 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Last June, DeJesus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine and other controlled substances. DeJesus was charged along with 20 other individuals in December 2021.
In May of 2020, an investigation began into a network of Lawrence-based drug traffickers. From December 2020 through December 2021, intercepted communications between targets of the investigation and their associates revealed they distributed fentanyl and cocaine in and around the Lawrence area. Some of the cocaine was obtained from suppliers in Puerto Rico and shipped to Massachusetts by U.S. mail.
DeJesus was arrested on state firearms charges in August of 2021 but, according to court documents, continued to operate his drug business from jail.