Steven Rios, Conspiracy to Distribute Suboxone, Massachusetts 2022

A North Andover man has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for his role in a large drug conspiracy centering around the Gangster Disciples in Lawrence, Haverhill, and Methuen.

Steven Rios, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to distribute Suboxone in October 2022. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 8 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release.

The investigation, which began in August 2020, intercepted communications between Gangster Disciples’ leaders, members, and drug suppliers pertaining to their alleged distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and Suboxone in Massachusetts, Maine, and southern New Hampshire, as well as into the Essex County Jail.

Rios was charged in November 2021, along with 12 others, in connection with the large drug conspiracy. The investigation intercepted phone calls between Rios and other gang members, who conspired to kidnap and assault a marijuana supplier from Maine.

The dispute originated from an alleged drug debt and suspicions that the drug supplier had stolen one of Rios’s breeding dogs. Following related search warrants, Rios was again intercepted in phone calls planning to smuggle Suboxone into the Essex County Jail when he was arrested.

Jail officials were able to screen Rios, who had attempted to smuggle drugs into the jail by swallowing them. After several days at the hospital, jail officials seized Suboxone from Rios.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Rollins’ Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.

Related Federal Cases