CONCORD - Abelino Morales-Padilla, 38, of Manchester, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2018, Morales-Padilla conspired with other persons to distribute more than 400 grams fentanyl. On Oct. 16, 2018, a confidential informant informed police that Abelino Morales-Padilla would be coming from Massachusetts to New Hampshire with a large quantity of fentanyl. Police officers identified the car and stopped Morales-Padilla for traffic violations in Londonderry. Law enforcement officers later located approximately 424 grams of fentanyl inside the vehicle.
Morales-Padilla is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 12, 2019.
“Those who choose to bring fentanyl or other deadly drugs into New Hampshire will be prosecuted aggressively," said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Interstate drug traffickers endanger the health and safety of our citizens. In order to deal with this threat, we work closely with our law enforcement partners each day to identify and prosecute those who transport drugs into our state."
“Fentanyl has destroyed communities across the country, leaving despair and anguish in its wake. Morales-Padilla looked to make a quick profit by choosing to push fentanyl onto our New Hampshire streets," said Jason J. Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston. “Every dealer we help remove from the streets is a victory in the battle against the opioid and fentanyl plague that has devastated so many lives in the region."
This matter was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the New Hampshire State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
