New York man sentenced to prison for role of transporting over 50 kilos of cocaine into Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Brooklyn man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a drug trafficking organization wherein he transported kilograms of cocaine from New York to Boston in August 2020.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, Dinelson Hernandez-Rodriguez, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 68 months incarceration and three years of supervised release. In February 2024, a jury found Hernandez-Rodriguez guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

In October 2019, an investigation began into a DTO trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in Boston and Taunton. Intercepted communications established that the DTO was supplied in part by individuals in New York. In August 2020, Hernandez-Rodriguez drove from New York to Hyde Park with kilograms of cocaine hidden in a trap compartment inside a Honda Pilot automobile. One day prior, a co-conspirator also transported kilograms of cocaine from New York to Hyde Park. In total, Hernandez-Rodriguez and his co-conspirator transported more than 50 kilograms of cocaine intended for distribution in Boston.

After cocaine was distributed in the Boston area, Hernandez-Rodriguez attempted to transport $240,240 in drug proceeds – again, hidden in the trap inside his car – back to New York but was intercepted by law enforcement. 

Hernandez-Rodriguez is the ninth defendant to be convicted in this case, either by guilty plea or following a jury trial.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the Connecticut State Police and the Boston, Taunton and Stratford (Conn.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel R. Feldman and K. Nathaniel Yeager of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.