Haverhill man sentenced to 15 years in NH for drugs, gun charge | News

CONCORD N.H. –  Joshua Smith, 31, of Haverhill, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray.

Smith was arrested on Oct. 17, 2017, while selling drugs, and he pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2018. According to court documents and statements made in court, Smith was employed by Sergio Martinez to sell fentanyl in New England states, including New Hampshire. When arrested, police found Smith to be carrying a firearm, which he admitted was “to avoid being robbed by drug customers,” according to court documents.

 “Fentanyl traffickers who carry firearms present an enhanced danger to the public.” Murray said. “The law enforcement community is united in its effort to stop the flow of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into New Hampshire. In order to protect the community, we will seek lengthy prison sentences for fentanyl traffickers, particularly those who use guns to further their criminal activities.”

On each day that Smith worked, the Martinez organization provided him with at least one 200-gram bag of fentanyl, expecting him to sell it and return approximately $6,000 in proceeds, court documents and statements show. The defendant worked for the Martinez organization on various days, including the day he was arrested.

This investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. 

“Fentanyl is causing deaths in record numbers and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively pursue anyone who distributes this poison,” said Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. “Today’s sentence not only holds Mr. Smith accountable for his crimes, but serves as a warning to those traffickers who are fueling the opioid epidemic.”

The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill Police Department; the Methuen Police Department; the Lowell Police Department; and the Maine State Police.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Seth R. Aframe.