Nelson Garcia Martinez, Fentanyl Distribution, Massachusetts 2018

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Fentanyl Distribution Rocked Massachusetts: Salvadoran National Charged

Boston, MA – A brazen act of fentanyl distribution shook the streets of Massachusetts when law enforcement seized 15 kilos of the deadly substance discarded on the side of a road in Sturbridge.

Nelson Garcia Martinez, 37, a Salvadoran national residing in Stockton, California, has been charged with one count of distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Garcia Martinez is currently being held in custody pending a detention and probable cause hearing.

On November 13, 2018, federal agents conducting surveillance at a rest stop in Sturbridge observed Garcia Martinez meet with two unidentified individuals outside of his tractor trailer. When the two individuals left the area, law enforcement attempted to stop their vehicle, but they fled. The passenger discarded a vacuum-sealed garment bag containing 15 kilograms of fentanyl before fleeing into the surrounding woods.

Law enforcement recovered vacuum-sealed bags matching the one discarded on the side of the road from Garcia Martinez’s tractor trailer. Officials were led to Garcia Martinez after discovering a phone number believed to be associated with him, which was linked to a drug transporter related to a previous seizure of 32 kilos of fentanyl in Methuen.

Garcia Martinez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million. He will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations, and Garcia Martinez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement agencies, announced the charges against Garcia Martinez.