Providence man started fentanyl trafficking eight days after release from ACI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Providence man who led a fentanyl trafficking operation that employed family members and conducted drug deals in the presence of children was sentenced to federal prison Monday.

Rafael Ferrer, 43, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.

Ferrer has been incarcerated several times over the past two decades for violent assault, burglary, firearms and drug trafficking offenses.

He began trafficking fentanyl eight days after being released from the ACI in 2019.

He had been incarcerated for eight years for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and home invasion.

Ferrer admitted to a federal judge that he was a supplier of both pill and powdered fentanyl.

This included a role as the leader of a drug trafficking organization in which he organized the sale of fentanyl and directed others including runners and family members to deliver drugs.

Ferrer arranged for the delivery of fentanyl on 16 dates between June 19 and November 5, 2019.

On three occasions he delivered more than 40 grams of fentanyl.

“As Rhode Island continues to grapple with the grim toll of opioid overdoses- particularly those wrought by fentanyl, Rafael Ferrer chose to fan the flames by callously profiting from peddling lethal drugs in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha.

“In the process, he put family members and innocent children at risk, to say nothing of the buyers of his deadly product.”