PROVIDENCE – Jorge Pimentel, a/k/a “Big Head,” 36, of Cranston, has been sentenced to twenty years in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Pimentel had previously admitted in court that he operated a highly productive drug lab and stash house in Pawtucket, where law enforcement seized 19,315 fentanyl-laced pills made to look like pharmaceutical-grade Percocet and nearly 9 kilograms of fentanyl powder. The combined seizure of over 16 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills and fentanyl powder, an industrial-grade high-speed pill press, and 28,000 grams of cutting agents used to manufacture the fake pills in September 2023, ranks among the largest fentanyl seizures in Rhode Island.
The fentanyl powder and pre-cut mixture found in this case represented the potential to produce over 633,000 fentanyl-laced pills.
Court documents reveal that Pimentel was already an established large-scale fentanyl trafficker when, between May 31, 2023, and September 29, 2023, he brokered sales of approximately 34,000 fentanyl-laced pills, earning $37,000 for the transactions.
Pimentel was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to 240 months in prison, followed by five years of federal supervised release. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. No plea agreement was filed in this case.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI’s Rhode Island Safe Streets Task Force, which includes agents and law enforcement officers from the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, and various local police departments, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also extends thanks to the Providence Police Department and the DEA for their collaboration in the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that unites law enforcement at all levels with the communities they serve to reduce violent crime, gun violence, and create safer neighborhoods for everyone.
