Wilgfrido Valnodis Arias-Mejia, Drug Trafficking, New Hampshire 2021

In a major blow to the city's ongoing opioid epidemic, Wilgfrido Valnodis Arias-Mejia, a 45-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

Arias-Mejia, most recently residing in Manchester, sold large amounts of fentanyl and crack cocaine from 2018 to at least November 27, 2019 in the Manchester area, employing various co-conspirators to sell drugs on his behalf.

Each day they worked, the defendant provided his employees with pre-packaged bags containing between three and six “fingers” (10-gram packages) of fentanyl and smaller baggies containing fentanyl, powder cocaine, and crack cocaine, and sent customers to their residences until all of the drugs were sold.

Arias-Mejia is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2021. The sale of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs endangers public health and safety, said U.S. Attorney Murray. In order to keep our citizens safe, we will continue to be aggressive in our efforts to identify and prosecute the drug traffickers who are responsible for peddling these deadly substances in Manchester and other communities.

“Wilgfrido Valnodis Arias-Mejia led a major drug trafficking organization, selling large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine to a region hit hard by the opioid epidemic,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “With today’s guilty plea, he has finally taken responsibility for setting up multiple drug distribution houses in Manchester, NH, with the intent to harm our neighbors.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Manchester Police Department and Nashua Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana MacDonald.

This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States.

Defendant: Wilgfrido Valnodis Arias-Mejia, 45, a citizen of the Dominican Republic and resident of Manchester.

Criminal Charges: Possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute.

City and State: Manchester, New Hampshire.

Exact Date: The crime occurred from 2018 to at least November 27, 2019, and the guilty plea was entered on an unspecified date.

Sentence or Outcome: Arias-Mejia is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2021.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/manchester-man-pleads-guilty-drug-trafficking-2