MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera, of Blackwood, New Jersey, has admitted to his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.
Lorenzo-Rivera, 37, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Distribution of Forty Grams or More of Fentanyl.” Lorenzo-Rivera admitted to distributing nearly 34 grams of acetyl fentanyl (synthetic fentanyl) and more than 241 grams of a fentanyl mixture. A lethal dose of fentanyl is two milligrams.
Lorenzo-Rivera faces at least five and up to 40 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $5,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
This case is the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep. This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
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