A man from the Dominican Republic living in the Bronx, New York, was sentenced in federal court in Boston for operating a fentanyl distribution hub that supplied fentanyl laced with xylazine to areas in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York.
Jairo Collazo, 36, received a 10-year prison sentence followed by five years of supervised release. After serving his sentence, Collazo faces deportation. In May 2025, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances involving more than 400 grams of fentanyl. He was initially charged by criminal complaint in April 2024 and indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024.
Collazo managed a fentanyl operation from a basement in the Bronx, distributing drugs to cities including Boston, Fitchburg, Springfield (all in Massachusetts), Syracuse (New York), and throughout Vermont. The operation involved packaging fentanyl into glassine wax paper bags for sale. According to authorities, Collazo referred to his associates as “employees.” He traveled twice to Massachusetts—once in December 2023 and again in January 2024—to distribute fentanyl directly to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.
Law enforcement searched the Bronx basement on April 12, 2024. They found packaged fentanyl ready for distribution, materials used for cutting drugs with other substances, and bottles of xylazine—a horse tranquilizer often mixed with opioids like fentanyl. Authorities seized over two kilograms of fentanyl from Collazo during this search.
Court records show that Collazo previously pleaded guilty in New York Supreme Criminal Court in 2021 for first-degree criminal possession of heroin and served two years in state prison before being deported back to the Dominican Republic. He later returned to the United States.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Fitchburg Police Department and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.”
