Brockton Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

A Brockton man was sentenced today for distributing fentanyl throughout southeastern Massachusetts.

Christian Collins, 19, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to five years in prison and four of supervised release. On June 23, 2021, Collins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and three counts of distribution of fentanyl.

In 2019 and 2020, law enforcement officers conducted an investigation into fentanyl traffickers operating in southeastern Massachusetts. In December 2019, Collins worked with co-defendant Filomeno Monteiro to distribute 20 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness and an undercover police officer in Plympton. On Jan. 3, 2020, Collins and a third man sold 10 grams of fentanyl and a Taurus .38 caliber firearm to the same cooperating witness and undercover officer. On Jan. 6 and Jan. 8, 2020, Collins distributed a total of 45 grams of fentanyl to the cooperating witness and undercover officer.

Monteiro pleaded guilty on July 13, 2021 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 18, 2022.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes; East Bridgewater Police Chief Paul O’Brien; Douglas Bartlett, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl, of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit, prosecuted the case.