A Monmouth County man, who at the time of his arrest was working to expand his drug distribution operation by manufacturing his own pills, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

Richard Dobin, 30, was sentenced on Thursday in Trenton federal court to 188 months behind bars. The Manasquan resident had previously pleaded guilty to charges related to his role as head of a drug trafficking organization based in Monmouth County.

According to documents related to the case and statements made in court, Dobin's operation sold cocaine and fentanyl analogue pills locally and via the internet's black market between February 2017 and August 2017. Dobin ordered these products on the Dark Web before selling them in smaller quantities.

Dobin's arrest interrupted his plans to expand his operation, officials say. He was attempting to manufacture his own pills using press machines and raw powders at a "stash house" located in Middletown.

Searches of the house and a vehicle used by Dobin's organization recovered fentanyl pills and cocaine.

In addition to the prison term, Dobin was sentenced to four years of supervised release. The court previously ordered the forfeiture of certain cryptocurrency holdings belonging to Dobin.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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