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United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

01/29/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/29/2025 13:55

Lowell Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Press Release

Lowell Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Wednesday, January 29, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
Defendant supplied counterfeit "Adderall" pills made with methamphetamine to Asian Boyz gang member

BOSTON - A Lowell man pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy with the Asian Boyz street gang.

Erickson Dao, a/k/a "Silent," 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for May 13, 2025.

Dao was a drug supplier in an extensive trafficking network involving Asian Boyz gang member, Bill Phim. Between February 2022 and April 2022, Dao delivered counterfeit pills made to resemble the pharmaceutical product, Adderall, to Phim on at least five occasions. Phim then sold the pills to an undercover federal agent for more than $11,000. Chemical testing confirmed that the pills were not actually Adderall but a dangerous compound of methamphetamine and caffeine, instead. When investigators searched Dao's residence, they discovered hundreds more counterfeit "Adderall" pills and large quantities of cocaine.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, each provide for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to life of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. 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.

Phim has pleaded not guilty and is pending trial.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division and Superintendent Greg Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants in the case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated January 29, 2025
Topic
Drug Trafficking