BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Boston for his role in a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) that manufactured and distributed thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing narcotics.
Erick Solis Lopez, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 62 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Solis was also ordered to forfeit $18,190, assorted jewelry and two vehicles. In October 2023, Solis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Solis was among 23 individuals charged in October 2022 in connection with a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic counterfeit prescription pills. The defendants were subsequently indicted along with two additional alleged co-conspirators in December 2022. According to court documents, the DTO distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, among other things, to various individuals in the Lynn area. Solis is the third defendant to be sentenced in the case.
Solis was responsible for the distribution of approximately 7,300 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing undisclosed amounts of fentanyl. Solis made daily deliveries of fentanyl pills, powder fentanyl, crack cocaine and marijuana for the DTO. Some of these controlled substances were recovered from a vehicle registered to Solis in a mechanically operated concealed compartment (commonly referred to as a “hide”). The vehicle also contained a fraudulent driver’s license bearing Solis’s photograph.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; and John E. Mawn Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Beverly, Everett, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Saugus and Swampscott Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Evan D. Panich of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
