Dominican national charged in Mass. for distributing hundreds of fentanyl pills

BOSTON (WWLP) - A Dominican national was arrested and charged on Tuesday in connection with hundreds of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and multiple overdose victims, including a two-year-old child.

The charging documents stated that 41-year-old Jose Radhame Sanchez of Haverhill and Methuen allegedly sold approximately 600 fentanyl pills in April of 2025.

On April 9, Sanchez allegedly distributed approximately 200 suspected fentanyl pills pressed to resemble 30-milligram oxycodone pills in Lawrence. During the transaction, Sanchez reportedly had a child with him in the car.

On April 17, Sanchez allegedly distributed approximately 400 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl at a restaurant in Methuen. Further investigation into Sanchez revealed that multiple suspected overdose victims had been found at his Haverhill residence in 2024.

In February 2024, law enforcement came to Sanchez's home and found a woman who had overdosed. At the time, Sanchez told officers that he had found the victim "on the side of the road in his neighborhood and allowed her into his home" and "denied knowing that the female was a drug user." However, recent phone records revealed that Sanchez contacted the woman 171 times in less than a week in March 2025.

Charging documents further stated that in April 2024, a two-year-old child had been found unresponsive and not breathing at Sanchez's residence, and later tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine. At the time, Sanchez had also allegedly tested positive for cocaine. The victims in both incidents survived.

Sanchez was arrested on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for May 6.