Mass. Woman Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Charge

CONCORD, NH - Bicky Zapata-Nivar, 29, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Lawrence, MA, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to conspiring to distribute the Schedule II controlled substance fentanyl on Feb. 29, 2016.

According to a press statement from U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice, last year, law enforcement officers investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire purchased approximately 290 grams of fentanyl from members of the organization.

On Sept. 17, 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration executed search warrants at three residences in Lawrence, MA, associated with the organization. In one residence, officers located the defendant and her minor child in a bedroom, according to the statement.

“When the defendant heard law enforcement enter, she attempted to hide a suitcase containing drugs and packaging materials under a bed,” Rice said. “The suitcase contained approximately 246 grams of a mixture containing the controlled substance fentanyl, an instrument used to compress drugs into 10-gram quantities for sale, blenders, and other packaging materials. Earlier that day, in the same bedroom, the defendant had packaged loose fentanyl for her coconspirators to sell.”

Zapata-Nivar admitted that she packaged drugs for members of this drug trafficking organization on prior occasions and was paid for doing so. A search warrant was also executed at her home where an additional quantity of suspected fentanyl was found, though lab results have not yet confirmed the nature of that substance.

Zapata-Nivar will be detained pending sentencing, which is presently scheduled for June 8, 2016. The statutory maximum sentence for this offense is 40 years in prison and criminal fines of up to $5,000,000. Zapata-Nivar’s actual sentence will be determined by the court at sentencing after a presentence investigation report is completed.

“Prosecuting those individuals who illegally introduce controlled substances into our communities is a priority of my office,” stated Rice. “Fentanyl, in particular, is an incredibly dangerous substance responsible for many overdose deaths in New Hampshire. We will continue to work tirelessly to prosecute those who seek to profit from the sale of this dangerous drug.”

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana L. Konesky.