‘Large-scale fentanyl trafficker’ sentenced for running Pawtucket drug lab, stash house

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Cranston man has been sentenced to federal prison following one of the largest seizures of fentanyl in Rhode Island history, according to Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Jorge “Big Head” Pimental, 36, will serve 20 years in federal prison after being sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

His sentence will be followed by five years of federal supervised release.

Pimental pleaded guilty in December of 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Law enforcement seized 19,315 fentanyl-laced pills from Pimental’s drug lab/stash house in a September 2023 operation.

The pills were produced to resemble pharmaceutical-grade Percocet pills.

Also seized at the stash house were over 16 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills and fentanyl powder, an industrial grade high-speed pill press and 28,000 grams of cutting agents used to produce the fake pills.

633,000 fentanyl-laced pills could have been produced from the items seized by law enforcement, according to Bloom’s office.

Between May 31 and September 29, 2023, Pimental was found to have sold approximately 34,000 fentanyl-laced pills for $37,000 and was referred to as a “well-established, large-scale fentanyl trafficker” in court documents.