Cape Cod man involved in wide-ranging drug trafficking ring, sentenced to prison

BOSTON – A Yarmouthport man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a wide-ranging operation that distributed heroin and fentanyl throughout Cape Cod.

Kevin Fraga, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs to 45 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In November 2017, Fraga agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin.

Fraga and three others were arrested in August 2017 as part of a drug ring that shipped large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin from Boston to Cape Cod, where it was redistributed. Fraga and his brother, Alex Fraga, were arrested on Aug. 16, 2017, after law enforcement officers seized large quantities of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine from Kevin Fraga’s Jeep and Winnebago, and the home that Alex and Kevin shared in Yarmouthport. Approximately one week later, Kelvin Chales and James Ramirez, alleged drug suppliers to the Fraga brothers, were arrested, and law enforcement seized fentanyl pills and powdered fentanyl from a drug stash house in Dorchester, Ramirez’s home in Dorchester and a safety deposit box at Santander Bank in Dorchester.

Ramirez previously pleaded guilty and is set to be sentenced on Feb. 5, 2020. Chales is scheduled to plead guilty on Jan. 30, 2020.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe made the announcement today. The Brewster, Harwich, Sandwich, Mashpee, Chatham, Yarmouth, and Barnstable Police Departments and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Rosen, Alathea Porter, and Philip Cheng of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.