Cambridge man convicted of drug and gun offenses (DOJ)

BOSTON - A previously convicted felon from Cambridge has been found guilty by a federal jury of possessing cocaine intended for distribution and unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking while a convicted felon.

Abdelouahab Adel, 26, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20, 2026.

Adel met and sold cocaine to a cooperating witness on Sept. 19, 2023 in Revere, Mass. After selling the cocaine, he was arrested with a Glock, Model 26, 9mm semiautomatic pistol and an additional quantity of cocaine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy. As a person who had previously having been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, Adel was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Specifically, in 2018, Adel was convicted in Suffolk Superior Court for Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, among other charges.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 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 charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to life in prison, to be served consecutively to the sentence for other crimes, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Massachusetts State Police; the Billerica and Lowell Police Departments; and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John J. Reynolds III of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

Updated July 15, 2026