MANCHESTER, N.H. — A Massachusetts man who led a drug ring distributing fentanyl- and meth-laced pills disguised as candy has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, prosecutors announced Monday.
Emilio Garcia, 27, of Lynn, Massachusetts, received the sentence in connection with a large-scale narcotics operation that was uncovered following a fatal overdose in Salem, MA in July 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The investigation led to a massive drug seizure in November 2023. Authorities searched four locations in Lynn and found an estimated 8 million individual doses of fentanyl- and methamphetamine-laced pills and powder. The street value of the drugs is estimated at over $8 million.
Prosecutors described one of the searched properties as “one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in New England.”
Garcia will also serve five years of supervised release after his prison term.
Two co-conspirators were also charged:
Sebastien Bejin, also of Lynn, was sentenced last month to 12 years in prison, plus five years of supervised release.
Deiby Felix, another Lynn resident, pleaded guilty to multiple drug and gun charges in February 2025 and is awaiting sentencing.
The pill operation was notable not just for its scale but for the deceptive appearance of the narcotics, which were designed to look like candy, raising concerns about their potential appeal to minors and unknowing users.
Authorities say the bust significantly disrupted a major source of deadly narcotics in the region.