TAUNTON, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) - Thursday is being called a banner day for law enforcement in southeastern Massachusetts.
Officials announced that 25 people were indicted on federal drug charges in a heroin and fentanyl trafficking ring that encompasses several area communities.Arrests were made Thursday in Berkley, Fall River, Marshfield, New Bedford, Lawrence, Taunton and Providence, Rhode Island.
The drugs came to the area from outside the U.S. via Mexican cartels, officials said.
“The Dedwin Cruz Operation has been prolific in Taunton for over 10 years. We have been unable to get him in the past. We have tried many times. His arrest today is a banner day for law enforcement,” said Taunton Police Chief Ed Walsh.
The bust follows four other recent federal indictments that charged 17 people in connection to a massive Taunton heroin distribution network.
“Just taking dealers off the street was not going to be effective. We needed to go after the organizations, the sources of supply,” Walsh said.
Taunton and other communities are dealing with an opioid crisis, an issue that is now a nationwide concern. Taunton has over 150 drug overdoses so far this year.
The U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz says this effort for federal law enforcement to team up with local police to do these types of drug busts is the latest tactic in the opioid crisis in this region.
Ortiz and other federal agents are pointing to prescription drugs, which is the place where treatment specialists say heroin addiction typically starts.
"We have to work with the medical profession so they understand how to prescribe medication and what can go askew if it isn't done properly," said Ortiz.