BOSTON – A Mexican national previously deported twice from the United States was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a conspiracy to distribute kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine and launder the proceeds.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 33-year-old Jesus Lopez Medina was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. In December 2024, Lopez Medina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court filings and proceedings, in August 2023, an investigation began into a drug-trafficking organization based in Mexico that sent kilograms of fentanyl and other narcotics via tractor trailer from the area of Ontario, Calif., to Massachusetts. Law enforcement allegedly began communicating with coconspirator Reginal Cazares, who was based in Arizona. In December 2023, Cazares allegedly directed law enforcement to deliver drug money to Lopez Medina in California. On Dec. 4, 2023, an undercover officer delivered $202,090 drug money, received from coconspirators in Massachusetts, to Lopez Medina in Ontario, Calif. In February 2024, Cazares allegedly directed law enforcement to pick up 13 kilograms of narcotics from Lopez Medina in California. On Feb. 16, 2024, Lopez Medina delivered 4 kilograms of fentanyl and 9 kilograms of cocaine to a cooperating witness in Ontario, Calif…