BOSTON — A federal indictment has blown open a suspected cocaine pipeline feeding the streets of Boston, with three men charged in a sprawling drug conspiracy. Cesar Rodriguez-Sanquentin, 26, of Methuen; Luis Alfredo Baez, 51; and Luis Mejia Guerrero, 58, both of Boston, were each hit with a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The arrests are the latest blow in a years-long investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating across the Greater Boston area. Federal and state law enforcement launched the probe in 2018, zeroing in on a network that allegedly moved kilogram quantities of cocaine through a base in Dorchester. Baez and Guerrero are accused of running distribution operations from that hub, while Rodriguez-Sanquentin was identified as a key trafficker tied to the Lawrence drug trade.
The operation imploded on May 13, 2019, when federal agents moved in. Rodriguez-Sanquentin was arrested en route to deliver over a kilogram of cocaine to Baez, authorities say. That same day, Baez and Guerrero were taken into custody. Raids followed, with search warrants executed at multiple locations yielding cell phones, drug packaging materials, digital scales, and a staggering $68,000 in cash.
Each defendant appeared in federal court in Boston the day they were charged and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years of supervised release, and fines reaching $1 million. Sentencing, should they be found guilty, will be determined by a federal judge weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The takedown was announced by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, 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 Kerry Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea Porter of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit.
As with all federal cases, the charges are merely allegations. Cesar Rodriguez-Sanquentin, Luis Alfredo Baez, and Luis Mejia Guerrero are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The investigation underscores the ongoing battle between law enforcement and entrenched drug networks in urban corridors across Massachusetts.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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