A Boston resident has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for his involvement in a major drug trafficking operation that distributed fentanyl and cocaine in New Hampshire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Flemin Soto Baez, 48, received a 50-month sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Soto Baez was among 21 individuals charged in April 2023 as part of the investigation. Authorities have so far convicted 15 people connected to the case, including Soto Baez’s brother, Juan Ramon Soto Baez, who led the organization and was previously sentenced to over eight years in prison.
“This defendant perpetuated a drug trafficking operation that pushes deadly narcotics,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan. “They profited from addiction and suffering. Today’s sentence demonstrates that every member of these organizations will be held accountable for the damage they inflict on New Hampshire families.”
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who choose to flood our communities with fentanyl and cocaine will be held accountable,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the New England Field Division. “Flemin Soto Baez played a significant role in a large-scale trafficking conspiracy that put countless lives at risk. The DEA and our law enforcement partners remain committed to dismantling these criminal networks and protecting our communities from the devastating impact of dangerous drugs.”
“Fentanyl and cocaine have no place in New Hampshire and neither do the drug traffickers who sell it,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Today’s sentence keeps Flemin Soto Baez behind bars for the key role he played in this multi-state drug trafficking operation. Every sale he orchestrated was a potentially deadly transaction, and the FBI and our partners won’t stop until all drug trafficking operations like this one have been disrupted.”
Court documents indicate that between July 2022 and March 2023, Flemin Soto Baez served as an organizer within a Massachusetts-based group distributing large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine primarily in Manchester, New Hampshire. The group operated dispatch phone lines for customers seeking narcotics; Soto Baez would receive orders by phone before directing others to deliver drugs at arranged locations.
When authorities arrested him in June 2023, they searched an apartment linked to him and found more than one kilogram of cocaine.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led the investigation with assistance from Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar A. Vega prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, which brings together resources from across the Department of Justice through initiatives such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aiming to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and address violent crime.
