Manchester Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Fentanyl Trafficking

             CONCORD - Adam W. Gagnon, 43, of Manchester, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 30, 2020, Manchester police detectives received information that Gagnon would be travelling to Lawrence, Massachusetts in an Uber to pick up a significant quantity of fentanyl for distribution. There were several outstanding warrants for Gagnon’s arrest. Detectives observed Gagnon travel to Lawrence in an Uber, enter a building for approximately 10 minutes and get into another Uber to head northbound. Detectives stopped the vehicle, arrested Gagnon on the warrants, and observed a cellophane wrapped package at Gagnon’s feet. The Uber driver consented to a search of the vehicle and the package was seized. A lab later confirmed the package contained over 480 grams of fentanyl.

           Gagnon previously pleaded guilty on February 17, 2021.

           “Fentanyl has caused horrific damage to communities throughout New Hampshire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “Those who seek to profit from the sale of this deadly substance are poisoning our citizens and will be held accountable for their conduct. This defendant was trafficking a very substantial quantity of fentanyl. Thanks to the hard work of the Manchester Police Department, he is now out of business and behind bars.”

           This matter was investigated by the Manchester Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim H. Barth.

           This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.). In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts. The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua.