Dominican Man Living in Methuen Gets 10 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

File photograph. (Image licensed by Ingram Image.)

Raul Vantroi Arias Ruiz will likely be deported after serving his sentence, officials said. (File photograph)

A 36-year-old Dominican man living in Methuen has been ordered to spend the next 10 years behind bars for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s office said this week.

According to court documents, Raul Vantroi Arias Ruiz arranged to sell fentanyl in New Hampshire from at least December 2016 through May 2017, using co-defendant Yossi Rafael Rincon-Ramirez to make deliveries. Four of those sales were made to an undercover DEA agent in Nashua, N.H.

Arrested at his Methuen home in May 2017, Arias Ruiz was taken into custody after a search of his property and two adjacent apartments netted $941,994 and two firearms. Ninety grams of fentanyl, 20 grams of heroin, and 30 pounds of marijuana were also seized.

Arias Ruiz pleaded guilty to federal charges earlier this year, and still faces state consequences tied to the drug and firearm seizure in Methuen. As part of the plea agreement, Arias Ruiz surrendered the firearms. The money was forfeited as part of a civil proceeding.

U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray expects Arias Ruiz to be deported to the Dominican Republic after serving his sentence.

Co-defendant Rincon-Ramirez pleaded guilty to assorted drug possession and distribution charges earlier this year and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison.