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Table of Contents

Brockton Man Jailed 65 Months for Fentanyl Trafficking

A Brockton man has been sentenced to 65 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that circulated large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, and marijuana throughout southeastern Massachusetts.

Carlos Antunes, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 65 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Antunes pleaded guilty to two counts of a multi-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, oxycodone, and marijuana, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents, in the fall of 2018, law enforcement agents began investigating a Brockton drug crew headed by Djuna Goncalves. The investigation revealed that Goncalves worked with Antunes and others to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, and marijuana throughout southeastern Massachusetts.

Agents intercepted telephone calls and observed meetings between Goncalves and Antunes where Antunes ordered fentanyl from Goncalves. On Oct. 12, 2018, agents seized fentanyl from a customer of Antunes shortly after Goncalves and Antunes delivered the fentanyl to him.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell, Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea Porter of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Antunes is the ninth defendant to be sentenced in the case, with 11 defendants in total having pleaded guilty to the charges.