Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera, Fentanyl Distribution, West Virginia 2024

Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Distribution

A Blackwood, New Jersey, man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned from New Jersey to Maryland to West Virginia.

Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera, 39, was found guilty of distributing fentanyl, a highly addictive and often deadly synthetic opioid. According to court documents, Lorenzo-Rivera admitted to distributing nearly 34 grams of acetyl fentanyl, a synthetic fentanyl, and more than 241 grams of a fentanyl mixture.

The investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, revealed that Lorenzo-Rivera had traveled to and from the Eastern Panhandle to supply drugs to another dealer. During the investigation, officers seized nearly 200 grams of fentanyl and nearly 300 grams of cocaine base that Lorenzo-Rivera had transported to a dealer in Harpers Ferry, as well as more than $12,000 in cash seized from a traffic stop.

Lorenzo-Rivera's sentencing hearing took place today in U.S. District Court, where Judge Gina M. Groh heard about Lorenzo-Rivera's continuous pattern of criminal conduct, which includes 14 felony convictions.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher on behalf of the government. The effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which aims to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera, Defendant, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl in Martinsburg, West Virginia on May 30, 2024. The investigation revealed that Lorenzo-Rivera had transported nearly 200 grams of fentanyl and nearly 300 grams of cocaine base to a dealer in Harpers Ferry, as well as more than $12,000 in cash seized from a traffic stop.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force investigated the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/new-jersey-man-sentenced-role-drug-conspiracy-0