Washington (CNN) An employee of the drug recovery center that Vice President Mike Pence abruptly withdrew from visiting agreed to plead guilty last week to federal drug trafficking charges.

Jeff Hatch, who is listed as the chief business development officer at Granite State Recovery Centers, is accused of moving 1,500 grams of fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid, from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, where he then handed some of it off to an alleged area drug dealer, according to a plea agreement.

Two people familiar with Pence's cancellation said the reason for the sudden decision -- which went unexplained for weeks -- was a federal law enforcement investigation.

It was unclear whether Hatch was the sole reason for the cancellation. The vice president's office declined to comment on Hatch.

But a person familiar with the matter said Pence was never scheduled to interact with him during his planned visit to Granite Recovery Center in Salem, New Hampshire.

Read More