Four indicted in fentanyl and carfentanil drug ring that stretched from Fall River to Boston

BOSTON – Three men and one woman were indicted yesterday in federal court in Boston with fentanyl and carfentanil conspiracy.

Rickey Depina, 31, of Brockton; David Fernandes, 32, of Braintree; Keanu Fernandes, 23, of Brockton; and Viviana Fontes, 29, of Brockton, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil.

According to the charging documents, from at least May 2019 through August 2019, in Brockton, Abington, Boston, Braintree, Easton, Fall River, Holbrook, Norton, Quincy, Raynham, South Easton, West Bridgewater, and Whitman the defendants conspired to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil. On multiple occasions, law enforcement made controlled purchases of both fentanyl and carfentanil. And on Oct. 1, 2018, law enforcement stopped a car in which Depina, David Fernandes, and Fontes were traveling and recovered over 17 grams of fentanyl, approximately $1,750 and four cell phones. While executing search warrants later that day, law enforcement recovered another $10,000.

Carfentanil is an analog of fentanyl and approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It is used commercially in tranquilizer darts for large mammals such as elk or elephants, and can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Moran and Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.