NH Man Police Stopped In Salem Pleads Guilty To Fentanyl Charge

CONCORD — A Manchester man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute stemming from a Jan. 31 traffic stop on Interstate 93 in Salem. According to court documents and statements made in court, Nestor Santiago Torres, 33, of Manchester, admitted that 373.8 grams of fentanyl were his following a consent search during the stop.

Torres was a passenger in a Ford Expedition that a New Hampshire State Trooper pulled over during an evening traffic stop. The trooper searched the vehicle and found a clear plastic package beneath the front passenger’s seat that contained the fentanyl. Multiple sandwich bags and a digital scale were also recovered from the vehicle.

Police say Torres admitted the drugs belonged to him during a later interview, and that he had been engaged with selling them.

“The illegal distribution of fentanyl poses an immediate and ongoing threat to people of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray in a statement. “In order to eliminate this threat, we will continue to work closely with the entire law enforcement community to identify and prosecute those who are responsible. I commend the State Police for their highway enforcement work in this case. Their efforts prevented a substantial amount of this deadly substance from being distributed in the Granite State.”

Torres is scheduled for sentencing on July 9.

“This prosecution is another win for the people of New Hampshire and our region,” said Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.