Providence man to serve 13 years in state prison for fentanyl trafficking

Published on Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 13 years in state prison for trafficking fentanyl.

On June 5, 2025, Superior Court Justice Maureen B. Keough sentenced Nelson Nunez (age 34) to 25 years, with 13 years to serve at the ACI and 25 years of probation. On February 13, 2025, the defendant pled nolo contendere to one count of possession of over one kilogram of fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

“Fentanyl traffickers must be held accountable for the destruction caused by their crimes,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Traffickers who push fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our communities are responsible for a proliferation of overdose deaths, the devastating effect of which wreaks havoc on families here in Rhode Island and across the country. Needless to say, I am proud of the investigators in my Office and the Rhode Island State Police Detectives responsible for bringing this defendant to justice.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between March 2021 and May 2022, the defendant led a drug trafficking operation in Providence.

From March 2021 through May 2022, the Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) investigated a large-scale drug trafficking organization based in Providence. Through various investigative techniques, HIDTA investigators identified the leader of the drug trafficking organization as the defendant, also known as “Money Maker.”

Beginning in March and into April 2022, HIDTA investigators established the defendant’s pattern of distribution. During surveillance, investigators observed the defendant using different taxicabs to travel from his residence to the stash house and then making various brief stops all over the City of Providence.

In addition to identifying the defendant’s modus operandi, investigators seized further evidence of drug distribution through “trash pulls,” confirming that the organization’s activity was on-going and operating from multiple locations.

Following a 15-month investigation, a judge granted HIDTA investigators search warrants for seven residences in the Providence area, including the defendant’s residence. In total, investigators seized about four kilograms of fentanyl laced with xylazine and approximately $120,000 in US currency.

Multiple other defendants have been sentenced for various drug trafficking and firearms-related charges as a result of this investigation:

Wilson Espinal Torres (age 45) was sentenced to 15 years, with 8 years to serve at the ACI and 7 years of probation, on December 13, 2024.
Edwin Torres (age 48) was sentenced to 15 years, with 7 years to serve at the ACI and 8 years of probation, on May 20, 2024.
Oscar Espinal (age 43) was sentenced to 10 years, with 5 years to serve at the ACI and 5 years of probation, on December 4, 2023.
Jose Reyes Nunez (age 34) was sentenced to 5 years, with 1 year to serve at the ACI and 4 years of probation, on March 20, 2024.
Dariana Nova (age 41) was sentenced to 5 years, with 6 years to serve at the ACI and 4 years and 6 months of probation, on June 13, 2022.
Eduardo Roa Camacho (age 32) pled nolo contendre on September 26, 2024, to one count each of possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing later this summer.

Special Assistant Attorney General Daniel Hopkins of the Attorney General’s Office, and Detective Robert Marchand of HIDTA led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

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