Press Release: 9/11/2026

Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges

 

Thursday, September 10, 2026 

For Immediate Release

 

Defendant served as “general” for one of the largest cocaine distributors in the world

BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Peabody, Mass., who served as a “general” in Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a violent transnational criminal organization based in Brazil, has pleaded guilty to multiple drug trafficking and firearm charges. PCC is one of the largest cocaine distributors in the world and is responsible for acts of violence and firearms trafficking.

Adinazio Vinicius Soares Dias-Barbosa, a/k/a “Panda,” 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, being an alien in possession of firearms and ammunition and engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. U.S. Senior District Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Dec. 3, 2026. The defendant was previously charged by criminal complaint on July 30, 2025.

Dias-Barbosa supplied fentanyl and cocaine to a drug trafficking network operating on the North Shore of Massachusetts. During the investigation, a search of Dias-Barbosa’s cell phone revealed numerous messages and photographs detailing his drug trafficking activities.

On July 1, 2025, as part of the investigation, Dias-Barbosa was stopped on Interstate 95 in South Carolina. Dias-Barbosa consented to a search of his vehicle but fled on foot across the interstate just before the search began. He was apprehended in the grassy median. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, nine rifles and ammunition were seized from the floor of the rear passenger compartment. Dias-Barbosa admitted that he had purchased the firearms in South Carolina and was transporting them to a broker in Miami, who would arrange for the rifles to be transported to Brazil through Paraguay.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by an alien and engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license each provide for a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Nathan Hebert, Special Agent in Charge of the Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Division; and Jack D. Buckley, Chief of Medford Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Everett, Framingham, Myrtle Beach (S.C.) and Yemassee (S.C.) Police Departments; Massachusetts Department of Correction; Massachusetts Army National Guard – Counterdrug Office; and the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Boston Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.



 

Updated September 10, 2026