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Vando Gvozdarevic, 30, of Chelmsford, pleaded guilty last year to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl and was sentenced on Wednesday, March 15, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Gvozdarevic, a member of the gang Gangster Disciples, was arrested in 2021 with 12 others as part of a larger drug conspiracy that funneled narcotics into Lawrence, Haverhill, and Methuen, prosecutors said.
Police began an operation to upset the gang's alleged drug ring in 2022 after investigators found messages between Gangster Disciples' leaders, members, and drug suppliers to bring fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and suboxone in Massachusetts, Maine, and southern New Hampshire as well as into the Essex County Jail, authorities said.
Police said Gvozdarevic supplied them with methamphetamine and fentanyl disguised as prescription drugs. Officers found more than 12,500 methamphetamine pills disguised as Adderall and over 3,700 fentanyl pills pressed to look like oxycodone at his home, officials said.
Authorities said fake pills like these are part of the drivers behind the rise in drug overdose deaths in recent years, as people do not realize what they are taking. FBI Boston division chief Joseph R. Bonavolonta said gangs such as Gangster Disciples and its members are flooding the streets with these dangerous narcotics.
“The Gangster Disciples are a ruthless gang that preyed upon our communities, and Vando Gvozdarevic was a driving force and prolific pill pusher, who supplied them with deadly narcotics disguised as prescription pills,” Bonavolonta said in a news release.
Gvozdarevic has previously served time in prison on drug and gun charges, authorities said.
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