Malden Man Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Disguised Fentanyl, Meth

BOSTON, MA — A Malden man pleaded guilty last week in federal court to trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine disguised as Adderall, Xanax and oxycodone in Malden, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Matthew Ramos, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and other controlled substances.

Ramos is scheduled to appear before a district court judge for sentencing on Jan. 18, 2024. According to the terms of a plea agreement, Ramos faces a sentence of 90 months in prison.

Ramos and co-defendant Igor Desouza were indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021.

Desouza pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2023, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.

According to court records, Ramos and Desouza were arrested after a search of the residence they shared on May 25, 2021.

Authorities said that during the search, they recovered a firearm, over 200 rounds of ammunition, black tar heroin, MDMA crystals, cocaine, doses of LSD and nearly 10,000 pills, which included: thousands of meth pills pressed to resemble Adderall or Xanax, thousands of fentanyl pills (some mixed with xylazine) pressed to resemble oxycodone, thousands of MDMA tablets, amphetamines, and oxycodone.

The charge of distribution of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and other controlled substances provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, four years and up to life of supervised release, and a fine of $5 million, authorities said.