A Providence, Rhode Island man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role as the leader of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) active in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara, 38, received a 10-year prison sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, with an additional five years of supervised release. Following the completion of his sentence, Ortiz-Alcantara will face deportation.
Ortiz-Alcantara had pleaded guilty in December 2023 to charges including conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Initially charged in July 2022, he was later indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2022.
Between February 2021 and July 2022, Ortiz-Alcantara orchestrated a DTO distributing fentanyl across Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Operations under his management included a stash house located in Fall River, where fentanyl was stored, processed, and distributed. The house also employed several individuals engaged in mixing, packaging, and distributing the drugs. Authorities seized over 12 kilograms of fentanyl, alongside equipment such as blenders, a hydraulic press, and baggies, during a raid on the property in July 2022.
The sentencing announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, Stephen Belleau; New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira; and Fairhaven Police Chief Michael J. Myers. The operation received assistance from the Massachusetts State Police; Homeland Security Investigations; Bristol County Sheriff's Office; and various police departments including those of Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Scituate, Yarmouth, Providence, and West Warwick.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy led the prosecution of the case.
This operation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a program focused on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling high-level criminal organizations posing threats to the United States through a coordinated, intelligence-driven, and multi-agency effort.
