Southbridge man sentenced to six years in prison for cocaine conspiracy and possession of a machinegun

Date: April 9, 2026

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Boston - A Southbridge man was sentenced today for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, including possessing a machinegun and cocaine intended for distribution.

Miguel Lopez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In December 2025, Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine; one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun.

From in or about April 2023 through in or about April 2024, Lopez conspired with others to distribute cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico to Massachusetts. On at least four different occasions during that period, Lopez was observed collecting packages suspected of containing controlled substances. On or about Jan. 29, 2024, a package addressed to Lopez was seized and one kilogram of cocaine was found hidden inside. During an April 2024 search of Lopez's residence, approximately two kilograms of cocaine was found hidden inside a package that had been delivered earlier that day. A Glock pistol with a machinegun conversion device attached to the back along with ammunition, a 30-round magazine and a 50-round drum magazine were also found at Lopez's residence.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Jason Buckley, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.