Lawrence Man Jailed for 57 Months on Heroin Conspiracy Charge

CONCORD, NH — Another Massachusetts man who was the target of a multi-agency, multi-year investigation into drug running in New Hampshire from Lawrence has been sentenced to more than four years in prison, according to acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley. Felix Portes, 57, of Lawrence, MA, was sentenced on March 28, 2017, to 57 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin.

Portes – as well as others – were arrested in March 2015 at the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem after attempting to sell 2 kilos of heroin to an individual assisting the investigation.

“The investigation determined that Portes and (Jonathan) Cruz-Marte were part of a larger Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization that, over the course of several years, supplied Keene-based drug traffickers with large quantities of heroin for redistribution in and around the Keene area,” Farley stated.

Portes pleaded guilty in January 2016; Cruz-Marte pleaded guilty in November 2016, and is due to be sentenced next month.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to address the heroin and fentanyl epidemic in New Hampshire by continuing to target the drug trafficking organizations that are responsible for bringing large quantities of these deadly drugs into New Hampshire,” Farley added. “I commend the cooperative efforts that led to this significant prosecution.”

Salem, Keene, and Richmond Police, along with NHSP, ICE, Homeland Security, the NH DOJ, and BATF, all assisted with the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Jennifer Cole Davis.