BOSTON — A Lawrence man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Friday, Sept. 18, for his involvement in a drug manufacturing ring, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.
Aris Arvelo Gonzalez, 37, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute and manufacture controlled substances. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti Saris scheduled Gonzalez’s sentencing for Jan. 13, 2027. He was arrested and charged in November 2026.
According to the charging documents, Gonzalez was a member of a drug trafficking organization known as La Culebra. Federal prosecutors say Gonzalez and La Culebra controlled a large drug manufacturing site inside an apartment in Methuen. During a search of the apartment in August 2025, investigators recovered more than 18 kilograms of controlled substances and a pill press.
While he was on pretrial release following a January 2025 arrest for drug offenses in New Hampshire, Gonzalez sold more than 1,500 grams of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl to a confidential informant and an undercover agent in four transactions between July and November 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported.
At the time of his arrest, Gonzalez was found to be in possession of thousands of counterfeit pills bundled into smaller bags and a large amount of cash, federal prosecutors say. Search warrants executed afterward at three locations in Lawrence tied to Gonzalez and La Culebra led to the recovery of materials used to manufacture counterfeit Percocet containing fentanyl, including a pill press and a 25-kilogram bag of pill-binding agent.
The conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute or manufacture charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division; Jarod A. Forget, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
