RI drug trafficker linked to Norton man sentenced to federal prison | Local News

PROVIDENCE — A Providence man who conspired with the leader of a multi-state drug trafficking ring that included a Norton man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison, the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s office announced Monday.

Audi E. Diaz, also known as Boku, 29, was also placed on probation for three years after his release.

Diaz previously admitted in U.S. District Court that he worked closely with Ramon Delossantos of Cumberland to prepare and distribute multi-kilogram shipments of fentanyl and cocaine to mid-level distributors in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The Norton man, Julio Cesar Santos Batista, also known as “Santico,” of 274 East Main St., is in prison awaiting sentencing on a drug conspiracy charge.

In September 2017, authorities executed a search warrant on Batista’s apartment and seized four kilograms of fentanyl and drug distribution paraphernalia, according to court records.

Batista, who was 29 when arrested, pleaded guilty in February 2018 and is scheduled to be sentenced May 29, according to records.

Delossantos pleaded guilty in June 2018, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and conspiracy with the intent to distribute cocaine. He is being held in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced June 14.

When Delossantos was arrested in Norton in September 2017, he emptied while powder from plastic bags as he ran from federal drug agents. He was apprehended after a short distance.

The drug trafficking ring imported hundreds of kilos of fentanyl and cocaine from the Dominican Republic and distributed them in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to federal officials.

Investigators seized 45 grams of suspected fentanyl and other drugs and arrested nearly two dozen individuals as part of an investigation called Operation Panamera, named for the Porsche allegedly used to distribute the drugs.

Evidence in the case included about 470 intercepted phone calls between Dias and Delossantos between Aug. 10 and Sept. 30, 2017.

The conversations ranged from Diaz arranging for numerous large-scale purchases of fentanyl and cocaine from Delossantos to Diaz borrowing equipment from Delossantos to prepare kilogram “bricks” of fentanyl and cocaine for sale, according to court records.