Massachusetts man charged after allegedly hiring Uber driver to complete drug deal

A Massachusetts man was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday, with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances, specifically, fentanyl, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

37-year-old Johan M. Rodriguez, of Lawrence, was arrested in Dover, New Hampshire on September 26, 2022, and was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in the District of New Hampshire on Tuesday.

The criminal complaint filed in court alleges that on September 26, 2022, Rodriguez hired an Uber to drive him from Lawrence, Massachusetts to a residence in Dover to deliver approximately ten kilograms of fentanyl for a Lawrence-based drug supplier. Law enforcement surveilled Rodriguez as he removed a toolbox and tool bag from the Uber’s trunk and carried them to the door of the residence where law enforcement encountered him. A search of the toolbox resulted in the seizure of approximately ten kilograms of suspected fentanyl which was separated into individual bundles ready for distribution.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Hampshire Major Offender Task Force and was assisted by the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office’s – Problem Solving Oriented Policing Unit, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office’s – Drug Task Force, and the Dover Police Department.