Crime & Safety
DEA: Men Who Tried To Supply Pawtucket With Fentanyl Pills Busted
Two suspects allegedly delivered more than 3 kilos of fentanyl to Pawtucket and Boston while under active investigation by a DEA task force.
PROVIDENCE, RI — Two men who allegedly delivered fentanyl pills to Pawtucket were arrested last week following an investigation by the Rhode Island DEA Drug Task Force.
Roberto Anibal Nieves Zayas, also known as Jose Diaz, 35, of Puerto Rico, and Mervin Roberto Cabral Roche, 46, of the Dominican Republic, appeared in U.S. District Court in Providence on Friday. They are charged with conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute the drug, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus.
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According to federal prosecutors, a DEA informant in late April made arrangements with Nieves Zayas and Cabral Roche for the delivery of 1000 fentanyl pills in exchange for $5,000. The pills were to be delivered to the parking lot of a Pawtucket restaurant. A vehicle with Massachusetts plates showed up and the drug deal was allegedly completed. The pills were seized by law enforcement while other agents followed the car to apartment complexes in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
In late May, the same informant allegedly arranged to buy 25,000 fentanyl pills for $125,000 and agreed to meet in Boston. A passenger van arrived in the parking lot of a Dorchester restaurant and an alleged transaction was in progress when Rhode Island DEA task force agents moved in. Agents seized a large plastic garbage bag containing 3.4 kilograms of fentanyl pills, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Nieves Zayas and Cabral Roche were arrested.
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Investigators allege that the two men inside the van in Dorchester are the same men who allegedly delivered the 1,000 fentanyl pills a month earlier in Pawtucket.
In court Friday, Nieves Zayas and Cabral Roche were ordered held in federal detention pending trial. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey P. Veroni.
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