A Dominican national residing in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Miguel Angel Martinez Lugo, also known by the aliases "Jesus Manuel Encarnacion" and "Jose Rosado Rabell," was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick. Following his prison term, he will undergo five years of supervised release and is subject to deportation upon completing his sentence.
Martinez Lugo had pleaded guilty in December 2024 to possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The charges stem from an incident on April 4, 2024, when law enforcement observed a black Acura MDX registered under one of Martinez Lugo's aliases traveling alongside a Chevrolet pickup truck in Salem, Massachusetts. Both vehicles were parked together on a street where officers witnessed two men transferring a heavy-duty black plastic storage bin from the pickup truck to the Acura MDX.
When Martinez Lugo drove past law enforcement officers in the Acura MDX, he made eye contact with them before quickly parking and abandoning the vehicle. A subsequent search warrant revealed 70 kilograms of cocaine inside three plastic storage bins within the car, along with three cellular phones.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Field Division; Chief Lucas J. Miller of the Salem Police Department; and Chief Peter Marr of the Manchester N.H. Police Department. Additional assistance came from the United States Marshals and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane prosecuted the case as part of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit.
