Manchester Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Trafficking

CONCORD, NH — A Manchester man has pleaded guilty to using a telephone to traffic drugs. Jeffrey Paul Hatch, 39, of Manchester, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Aug. 1. The charge is in connection with a drug sale in July 2017, said United States Attorney Scott Murray.

According to Murray, Hatch admitted that on July 25, 2017 he arranged a pickup of fentanyl from a Massachusetts-based trafficker on behalf of a Manchester-based trafficker. His guilty plea comes after an investigation that involved a person from Lawrence, Massachusetts who provided fentanyl to someone in Manchester. Others had a part in the trafficking by transporting drugs and money, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.

Hatch is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 6.

Agencies involved in the investigation included the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the state police of New Hampshire and Massachusetts.