A Lynn man was sentenced to over two years in prison for his role in a North-Shore-based drug trafficking ring that manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of fake prescription pills containing drugs.

Melvin Nieves was sentenced in federal court in Boston on Jan. 23 after pleading guilty last October to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Nieves was among 23 individuals charged in October of 2022 in connection with a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic fake prescription pills, a United States Attorney’s Office press release states.

The drug trafficking organization that Nieves was involved in distributing fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and fake Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, among other things, to various individuals in the Lynn area, according to court documents.

At the time of Nieves’ arrest in October of 2022, he had just checked in a suitcase at Logan Airport that contained $30,000 in cash of drug money that he was transporting to California to purchase more drugs, the press release states. Nieves was responsible for the distribution of approximately 400 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing undisclosed amounts of fentanyl.

Nieves also possessed an additional $8,054 in drug money, as well as assorted jewelry and a Louis Vuitton bag – both of which were purchased from earlier drug sales, the press release states.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, Brian D. Boyle, special agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division, and John E. Mawn Jr., interim colonel of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement Jan. 23. Assistance was provided by the Beverly, Everett, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Saugus, and Swampscott Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorneys James E. Arnold and Evan D. Panich of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.