BOSTON – A Dominican man residing in Lawrence has been sentenced for fentanyl trafficking and illegal reentry into the United States after being deported.
Jefri Paulino, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV on Aug. 31, 2022 to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On Oct. 22, 2021, Paulino pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and cocaine and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Paulino has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2020.
In September 2020, Paulino agreed to sell a confidential informant approximately one kilogram of fentanyl and 50 grams of cocaine at a restaurant in Haverhill. Paulino was arrested upon his arrival for the drug deal and was found in possession of individual plastic bags that contained approximately one kilogram of fentanyl and 50 grams of cocaine.
Paulino was previously convicted of fentanyl trafficking in 2017 for which he was sentenced to three years in prison and was deported in November 2018.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Office made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.