CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — A Belfast man was arrested in a multi-state drug trafficking ring, which utilized social media messaging apps to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire.

The document was released Nov. 19, and states that the ring also used social media to trade guns for drugs.

Alexander L. Wilson, 38, of Belfast, was one of thirteen men and women charged in the conspiracy, and is being held in federal custody. The information within the release became available after an indictment charging the 13 defendants was unsealed. 

According to the release, six of the defendants were arrested last week in Maine and New Hampshire, on charges including conspiracy to distribute and possess, with intent to distribute, controlled substances. These substances included fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Four are in state custody in Maine or New Hampshire on unrelated charges. Three defendants have yet to be arrested. 

Area law enforcement was tipped off in October 2023, after receiving information about a drug distributor based in Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts, who was conducting high volume narcotics deals via cell phone text messages and a social media messaging app.

Initial investigation law enforcement were able to identify several phones and two social media accounts controlled by members of the drug trafficking organization (DTO). Both social media profiles state the owners lived in New Hampshire and Maine, “implicitly targeting clientele and secondary sources of narcotics supply in those areas,” the release reads.

The investigation into the trafficking took place between Nov. 9, 2023, and March 7, during which law enforcement officers conducted eight purchases of fentanyl, largely arranged by one of the DTO’s social media accounts.

According to the release, these purchases ranged from 97 to 496 grams of fentanyl.  The organization’s runner would then typically conduct the hand to hand transaction in Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts. The release notes that all parties involved understood the purchaser was based in New Hampshire and the narcotics were intended for redistribution there. 

During this time, law enforcement seized more than two and a half kilograms of fentanyl, 250 grams of methamphetamine, and 28 grams of cocaine, during searches of premises used by the DTO to store and package narcotics. 

Law enforcement agents also executed search warrants on the social media platform servers for the historical records associated with the DTO account that was used to arrange the undercover purchases, and served another warrant for the contents of the cell phones that were seized.

Analysis of the communications indicate that the member of the DTO was using two different social media accounts and corresponding messaging apps, in addition to traditional text messaging, to arrange drug transactions in the Lowell neighborhood where the undercover purchases were made by officers. 

The transactions reportedly occurred over the course of a single year, from April 2023-2024, and involved an estimated total of at least 20 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of methamphetamine, and 200 grams of cocaine. The vast majority of these narcotics were sold to dealers based in New Hampshire and Maine for redistribution in their respective drug markets. Six of the charged co-conspirators also sought to trade firearms including handguns, rifles, and shotguns, for narcotics. 

The following defendants have been indicted in connection with this drug trafficking operation:

Pedro Miguel Ravelo Guzman, 31, of Lowell, Massachusetts. Guzman has not yet been arrested.

Jacob D. King, 41, of Milton, New Hampshire. King is in federal custody.

Riley J. Paletta, 26, of Hudson, New Hampshire. Paletta was released on pretrial supervision.

Amanda E. Camera a/k/a Amanda E. Douglass, 39, of Fairfield, Maine. Camera is in Maine state custody on unrelated charges.

Benjamin M. Fields, 41, of Laconia, New Hampshire. Fields is in New Hampshire state custody on unrelated charges.

John N. Titus, 35, of Farmington, New Hampshire. Titus is in federal custody.

Christian F. Gerlach, 52, of Manchester, New Hampshire. Gerlach is in New Hampshire state custody on unrelated charges.

Moses J. Losuk, 28, of Portland, Maine. Losuk is in Maine state custody on unrelated charges.

Timothy E. Boston a/k/a Timothy Earl Boston II, 38, of Nashua, New Hampshire. Boston is in federal custody.

Robert A. Arrington, 38, of Bangor, Maine. Arrington has not yet been arrested.

Robert W. Whiteside Jr., 46, of Exeter, New Hampshire.  Whiteside is in federal custody.

William L. Wheelock, 34, of Windham, Maine. Wheelock has not yet been arrested.

Alexander L. Wilson, 38, of Belfast, Maine.  Wilson is in federal custody, and will serve his time in federal prison should he be found guilty of the charges against him.

A charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance allows for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Two of the defendants, Jacob D. King, Amanda E. Cameron/Douglass, and Benjamin M. Fields face mandatory minimum sentences based on their involvement in the conspiracy. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. 

The Drug Enforcement Agency led the investigation, while the Hudson Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Nashua Police Department, Manchester Police Department, New Hampshire State Police, and the Strafford County Sheriff’s Department provided valuable assistance, according to the press release. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar Vega is prosecuting the case. 

“The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. The Task Force identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gans, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks,” the release reads. 

Being charged with a crime does not suggest guilt, with defendants presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com