Rhode Island man sentenced in North Dakota to 33 years for role in international fentanyl trafficking operation
FARGO – A Rhode Island man was sentenced Thursday to 33 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale international drug trafficking organization.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the IRS – Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Grand Forks (North Dakota) Narcotics Task Force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau, the Portland (Oregon) HIDTA Interdiction Task Force, the Oregon State Police and the Grand Forks (North Dakota) Police Department.
Steven Barros Pinto, 40, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte, to 33 years imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and controlled substances analogues, conspiracy to import controlled substances and controlled substances analogues into the United States, money laundering conspiracy, continuing criminal enterprise (CCE), and obstruction of justice.
“Fentanyl causes immeasurable amounts of suffering and devastation to our communities, both in North Dakota and across North America,” said Jamie Holt, acting special agent in charge of HSI St. Paul. “HSI, and our numerous law enforcement partners in the U.S. and Canada, will tirelessly continue our efforts to disrupt these illegal activities to keep our communities safe, and free from the harmful effects of this highly dangerous drug.”
Pinto’s trial commenced June 8, in Fargo, North Dakota. Court records show that Pinto was part of a Rhode Island organization that was receiving fentanyl and fentanyl analogues from Canada and China. After a five-week trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Steven Pinto on various narcotics trafficking charges. Pinto’s partner in this criminal conspiracy, Anthony Santos Gomes, 36. also from Rhode Island, was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment July 30.
This case is part of “Operation Denial,” an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into the international trafficking of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and was significantly aided by the national and international coordination led by the multi-agency Special Operations Division (S.O.D.) near Washington, DC, as part of “Operation Deadly Merchant.” The investigation started in North Dakota, on Jan. 3, 2015, with the overdose death in Grand Forks of Bailey Henke.
Operation Denial has charged or convicted 31 defendants in North Dakota and three defendants in Oregon. The investigation has resulted in nearly $1 million in cash and property forfeited from members of the criminal enterprise.
In 2021, three Canadian nationals from Quebec, Canada, Jason Joey Berry, 38, Xuan Cahn Nguyen, 41, and Marie Um, 41, were extradited from Canada to the United States to face charges related to the enterprise. These defendants are currently detained and awaiting trial scheduled for Oct. 4, 2022, in Fargo. On Aug. 31, the U.S. Department of State offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Jian Zhang, a Chinese national and current fugitive in this transnational investigation.
The prosecutors for this case are Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher C. Myers, District of North Dakota; Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin, District of Oregon, also designated as a Special Assistant U.S Attorney in North Dakota; and Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni and Imani Hutty, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move.
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