BOSTON – A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his involvement in a drug trafficking organization. Over two kilograms of suspected controlled substances and a pill press were recovered.
According to the Department of Justice, 48-year-old Jose Vasquez Lantigua of Lawrence pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute and manufacture controlled substances. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2027. Lantigua was arrested and charged in August 2025 along with co-conspirator Manuel Santana-Soto.
According to the charging documents, Lantigua and the La Culebra DTO controlled a large drug manufacturing location inside an apartment in Methuen, where a controlled purchase of drugs from Joshua Morales, a drug runner associated with La Culebra, occurred. During a search of the apartment, investigators observed fresh footprints in powders believed to be controlled substances. Those footprints led down an interior staircase to a second-floor apartment, where Lantigua and Santana-Soto were encountered wearing flip flops with soles that matched the powdered footprints found…