Fentanyl Dealer From Beltsville Sentenced In Distribution Conspiracy

BELTSVILLE, MD — A 23-year-old Beltsville man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy in which he sold at least 4,500 pills, according to the prosecution.

Edward Steven Monge pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia Jan. 30. He had been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. In addition to his sentence of 96 months in prison, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes ordered Monge to serve four years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence, between February and August 2023, Monge sold more than 4,500 pills containing fentanyl to Jennifer Echeverria Flores, 26, of Silver Spring. Echeverria Flores then sold the pills to a DEA undercover agent on five separate occasions between Feb. 17 and July 19, 2023, in the District and Maryland. The pills were blue, marked “M” on one side, and “30” on the other. These pills were designed to look like authentic oxycodone “M30” pills, but instead contained fentanyl. In addition to the pills Monge distributed with Flores, he distributed thousands more fentanyl pills to other re-distributors and clients during this period, according to the prosecution.

On August 3, 2023, law enforcement arrested Monge in Hyattsville and found him carrying about 1,102 identical fentanyl pills. As part of the plea agreement, Monge also admitted that he possessed a firearm in connection with his unlawful distribution of fentanyl. Echeverria Flores pleaded guilty in December to the drug conspiracy charge. Monge’s co-conspirator Mynor Josue Fernandez Alfaro was indicted in March for his role in this conspiracy and his case is ongoing, the prosecution said.