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LAWRENCE, MA – Joshua Morales, 31, copped a plea in Boston federal court today, admitting he was moving serious weight – 10,000 counterfeit Percocet pills packed with fentanyl. The bust, stemming from an August 2025 investigation, reveals a large-scale operation pumping fake pills onto the streets.
Under surveillance, Morales was spotted leaving a Methuen address flagged as a drug den, lugging a hefty orange bag. Cops pulled him over in Lawrence and found the stash in his vehicle. But the pills were just the tip of the iceberg.
A raid on the Methuen location uncovered a full-blown pill mill: an automated press cranking out fake Adderall and Percocet, kilos of pills spiked with fentanyl and meth, and enough raw ingredients – cutting agents, powders, blenders, scales – to keep the operation running for a long time.
Morales now faces up to 20 years in the can, plus a minimum of three years supervised release and a $1 million fine when Judge Patti B. Saris hands down the sentence on June 12, 2026. The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI, Massachusetts State Police, and Methuen PD.