Jasdrual “Josh” Perez, 36, from Cranston, was sentenced to over 22 years in prison for his involvement in a major fentanyl trafficking operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
Perez led a drug trafficking group based in Providence, Rhode Island, that sold large amounts of fentanyl across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and other states. The group made fake pills that looked like prescription Oxycodone and Percocet but were actually filled with fentanyl.
Authorities believe the group distributed 200 kilograms of fentanyl and made millions of counterfeit pills with the drug.
Perez ran the operation, hired several people, and even made fentanyl pills himself.
On February 7, 2022, police raided Perez’s home, where they found two large pill presses, kilograms of fentanyl powder, and more than 50,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills. After the raid, Perez fled to New York.
While on the run, Perez arranged another drug deal involving 19,000 counterfeit pills, which were also seized by authorities.
U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said, “Fentanyl kills over 2,000 people a year in Massachusetts. That is unacceptable. Jasdrual Perez was running a business that pumped over 200 kilograms of this deadly poison onto the streets of Massachusetts and neighboring states, wreaking havoc and destroying lives.”
Perez was arrested on February 11, 2022, and has been in custody since. He was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine and forfeit the property used in his drug operation.