Walker Manuel Moreta, Fentanyl Trafficking, New Hampshire 2019

CONCORD - A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Walker Manuel Moreta, 32, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray.

Between at least January 2017 and July 2017, Moreta sold quantities of fentanyl to multiple individuals, including customers from New Hampshire. Moreta and his co-conspirators often operated out of a location on Water Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

As part of an investigation of Moreta, a cooperating individual purchased over 100 grams of fentanyl from Moreta between May and June 2017. On July 6, 2017, Moreta was arrested and had 19 grams of fentanyl on his person.

Moreta is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2019. Two co-conspirators, Miguel Arias-Velasquez and Miguel Vasquez, previously pleaded guilty. Arias-Velasquez was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison. Vasquez is awaiting sentencing.

“Traffickers of fentanyl and heroin continue to cause enormous damage to communities throughout New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “We are working tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate those who are responsible for the distribution of these deadly substances.”

This matter was investigated by the DEA, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, the United States Marshals Service, the New Hampshire State Police, the Lawrence Police Department, with assistance from the Portsmouth Police Department, the Dover Police Department, and the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/massachusetts-man-pleads-guilty-fentanyl-trafficking-0