James Ramirez, 55, was arrested in August after a DEA investigation that targeted Ramirez with undercover drug buys, an informant wearing a recording device and wiretaps on his phone.
A Boston man accused of conspiring to sell Fentanyl pills disguised as the prescription opioid oxycodone has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug and weapons charges.
James Ramirez, 55, was arrested in August after a DEA investigation that targeted Ramirez with undercover drug buys, an informant wearing a recording device and wiretaps on his phone. Investigators discovered Ramirez was a "large-scale narcotics supplier" who distributed fentanyl, heroin and cocaine to multiple buyers, the DEA said in a court filing.
Ramirez is facing a minimum of 20 years in prison for conspiring to sell four to six kilograms of fentanyl and two kilograms of cocaine, according to a plea document filed Tuesday in federal court.
Fentanyl is often cut into heroin to cheaply increase its potency, and users frequently do not know how much fentanyl is in the heroin they buy -- an ambiguity that can lead to accidental overdoses.
Starting in June, federal authorities began conducting undercover buys from Ramirez, obtaining hundreds of fentanyl pills designed to look like oxycodone, the DEA alleged in a criminal complaint. A judge then approved a wiretap on Ramirez, which captured him arranging large scale drug deals with Cape Cod residents Kevin and Alex Fraga -- both of whom have also agreed to plea.deals.
The wiretaps captured conversations in which investigators say Ramirez discussed buying bulk quantities of fentanyl for $33,000 per kilogram and selling them to Kevin Fraga for a profit.
At one point, Fraga complained to Ramirez that the pills he had bought were weaker than usual and sought to return them, according to the complaint.
Ramirez would make his fentanyl deliveries in a Winnebago equipped with a "hide," or concealed compartment, the complaint said.
On August 16, after more than a month of monitoring Ramirez, investigators observed him complete a drug deal with Fraga. They pulled over Fraga, arrested him and obtained a search warrant for his home; days later, after Ramirez continued trying to arrange drug deals, they did the same for him.
Investigators later found a pistol in and another batch of 1,300 fentanyl pills in a safety deposit box belonging to Ramirez. He was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ramirez also had a previous conviction for cocaine trafficking in 1992.