Edward Steven Monge, Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy, Maryland 2023

A Maryland pair has been hit with federal charges for their alleged roles in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy that spanned several months in Washington D.C. and Maryland.

Edward Steven Monge, 22, of Beltsville, Maryland, was arraigned on charges connected to his alleged role in the conspiracy, according to court documents.

Monge and his co-conspirator, Jennifer Echeverria Flores, 26, of Silver Spring, Maryland, are named in an indictment charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl.

Echeverria Flores is further charged with unlawful distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

According to the charging documents, on five different occasions between February 17, 2023 and July 19, 2023, Echeverria Flores sold a total of approximately 4,500 pills containing fentanyl to undercover agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (‘DEA’) in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

The pills are blue, marked ‘M’ on one side, and ’30’ on the other side. DEA laboratory testing has confirmed that the pills contain fentanyl.

Echeverria Flores was arrested on July 31, 2023, and has been ordered held without bond pending trial. On August 3, 2023, law enforcement agents arrested Monge in Hyattsville, MD, pursuant to an outstanding arrest warrant for him from Fairfax County, VA.

Upon a search of Monge, officers found approximately 1,102 pills on his person, which field tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. Monge was arrested on a federal arrest warrant on September 11, 2023.

The conspiracy charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. The distribution charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison with a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years.

The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The minimum and maximum statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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