Rhode Island

RI man tried smuggling 22 pounds of heroin into Canada via kayak. Now he’s heading to prison

Published

6 months ago

July 24, 2025

Press Room

RI man tried smuggling 22 pounds of heroin into Canada via kayak. Now he’s heading to prison

Freddy Rodriguez was planning to use a kayak to rendezvous with a boat on Lake Champlain, according to court records

Freddy Rodriguez, 40, of West Warwick, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into Canada, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont.
Border Patrol agents apprehended Rodriguez near Lake Champlain as he prepared to kayak 10 kilograms of heroin to a waiting boat, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Rodriguez was caught with the heroin, and his truck, which contained a hidden compartment, was seized, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

BURLINGTON, VT – A Rhode Island man who tried smuggling heroin into Canada via kayak on Lake Champlain was sentenced to 57 months in prison on Monday, July 21, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont.

Freddy Rodriguez, 40, of West Warwick, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to export heroin from the United States to Quebec, Canada, in September 2023, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

According to court records, Rodriguez had rented a house near Lake Champlain’s Missisquoi Bay in Highgate, Vermont, about 1½ miles from the border and was planning to deliver 10 kilograms of heroin to a power boat that had motored south from Canada when Border Patrol agents foiled the plan.

At about 12:05 a.m. Sept. 19, 2023, Border Patrol agents were hiding in the brush around a property on Duck Point Road “to observe possible illicit maritime traffic” when they saw a man later identified as Rodriguez “carrying what appeared to be at least one small bag,” Border Patrol Agent Brian Wilda said in an affidavit.

Rodriguez sat down on the beach and appeared to make and receive several phone calls, Wilda wrote.

Meanwhile, at about 1:45 a.m., the Border Patrol agents received word from their communications dispatch center that a boat had been detected via remote surveillance equipment traveling south on Lake Champlain across the border, Wilda wrote.

The boat continued south until reaching the area where they were watching Rodriguez “and made a sharp turn to the east (toward shore),” although the agents couldn’t see any running lights on the vessel, Wilda wrote.

“As the vessel turned east, agents observed the male subject on the beach remove objects from one bag and place them into another bag,” Wilda wrote. “The male subject then began to drag a kayak from the beach to the water, facing the direction from which the vessel was approaching.”

That’s when the Border Patrol agents ran from the woods and confronted Rodriquez.

“The subject attempted to abscond by running, but after approximately 40 feet he tripped, fell, and dropped the bag he was carrying,” Wilda wrote. “Agents detained the male subject and seized the bag, walking both back up to the property located above the shoreline.”

“Upon reaching property, the subject was met by additional agents arriving from other vantage points,” Wilda wrote. “I and other agents immediately recognized the detained subject as Freddy Rodriguez, an individual known to us from previous marijuana-smuggling events we had investigated in New Hampshire, in the far eastern portion of the Swanton Sector.”

Laboratory testing later showed that Rodriguez was carrying about 10 kilograms, or more than 22 pounds, of heroin, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

“Based on text messages recovered from Rodriguez’s phone, he appeared to have expected to receive a large quantity of cash and MDMA (ecstasy) in exchange for the controlled substances he was attempting to deliver,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Agents also searched and seized Rodriguez’s Ford F150 truck, which was later found to have “a sophisticated locking trap – a void used for secretly transporting large quantities of drugs or currency – under the truck’s rear seats, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Because of poor weather, the agents weren’t able to stop the boat.

Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss also sentenced Rodriguez to three years of supervised release after his prison term.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Jan. 10, 2026

Published

4 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

05-19-21-28-64, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

17-24-36-38-43, Lucky Ball: 17

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

Midday: 6-3-1-0

Evening: 3-7-1-4

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

10-13-27-37-38, Extra: 19

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Rhode Island

GoLocalProv | News | Gov. McKee’s Schedule for the First 10 Days of the New Year

Published

16 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

GoLocalProv | News | Gov. McKee’s Schedule for the First 10 Days of the New Year

Saturday, January 10, 2026

GoLocalProv News Team

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Governor Dan McKee PHOTO: GoLocal

It’s a new year, filled with new challenges. The General Assembly is back in session. Rhode Island’s economy is flat at best, and according to the University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro, the state is in a recession. Rhode Island is also in daily legal conflict with the Trump administration.

Add that the state is trying to recover from a mass shooting at Brown University, which killed two students and wounded nine others.

For Governor Dan McKee, it is a critical time.

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He has announced he is running for reelection—the Democratic primary is just nine months away.

McKee’s poll numbers have plummeted to record lows.

A poll released by the University of New Hampshire in November of 2025 found that in the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Rhode Island, 29% of likely Democratic primary voters (N=359) say they would currently vote for former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, 13% would vote for Speaker of the RI House of Representatives Joe Shekarchi, 11% would vote for incumbent Governor Dan McKee, 6% would write in someone else, and 42% are undecided.

Is the 74-year-old McKee criss-crossing the state to reassure Rhode Islanders, listening to residents’ ideas, and sharing his vision for the state in his second term?

GoLocal offers a recap of the McKees’ public schedule for the first ten days of the month.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10 & SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026

No public events.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2026

No public events.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

2:00 PM

Governor McKee will deliver remarks at the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty’s 18th Annual Interfaith Poverty Vigil.

LOCATION:

RI State House Rotunda

82 Smith Street

Providence, RI

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026

No public events.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026

No public events.

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2026

9:30 AM

Governor McKee will deliver remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new community learning center at the Cross’ Mills Public Library.

LOCATION:

Cross’ Mills Public Library

4417 Old Post Road

Charlestown, RI

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3 & SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2026

No public events.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2026

11:00 AM

Governor McKee will join members of Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation and local and state leaders for a rally hosted by Climate Action RI, Climate Jobs RI, and the AFL-CIO in support of Revolution Wind and other offshore wind projects.

LOCATION:

CIC Providence

225 Dyer Street

Providence, RI

THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2026

No public events.

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Rhode Island

GoLocalProv | Politics | Providence On Sunday Is One of the Sites for a National Protest Against ICE

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

GoLocalProv | Politics | Providence On Sunday Is One of the Sites for a National Protest Against ICE

Saturday, January 10, 2026

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Protest in Providence in June against ICE PHOTO: GoLocal

Organizers in Rhode Island and across the country are mobilizing against ICE after a pair of shootings in the past few days.

Organizers locally said, “Rhode Islanders will gather on Sunday to honor the life lost, make visible the human cost of ICE’s actions, and demand that state and federal leaders reject local contracts with ICE, take every action possible to stop ICE from operating in Rhode Island, and hold ICE agents accountable when they break the law.”

The RI event begins at 2 PM at the State House on Sunday.

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Nationally, it was a announced on Friday that, “A broad national coalition, including Indivisible, MoveOn Civic Action, the American Civil Liberties Union, Voto Latino, United We Dream, 50501, the Disappeared in America Campaign of the Not Above the Law coalition, and partner organizations across the country, is calling for a coordinated ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action.

“The mobilization comes in response to the escalation of ICE violence in our communities, the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old wife and mother of three, and the months-long pattern of unchecked violence and abuse in marginalized communities across America. Across the country, communities will gather in nonviolent, lawful, and community-led actions to honor the life lost, demand accountability, and make visible the human cost of ICE’s actions,” said organizers.

Organizers added, “Good and the Portland victims are part of a broader and deeply alarming pattern of unchecked violence and abuse by federal immigration enforcement agencies. In September, ICE reportedly shot and killed Silverio Villegas González, a father and cook from Mexico living in Chicago. In 2025 alone, more than 30 people have reportedly died in ICE detention.”