Nine men arrested for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine from Massachusetts to Maine

BOSTON — Nine Massachusetts men have been arrested for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine from the Bay State to Maine, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Authorities arrested Dorchester residents Cristofel Baez Guerrero, 25; Luis Castillo, 24; Raidyn Hernandez Montero, 24, and Ricardo Canela Soto, 20; Ricky Junior Rodriguez Reynoso, 24, and Waldo Lara Arias, 19, both of Boston; Ernesto Arberty Mendez Herrera, 43, of Roxbury; Yomerli Mendez Arias, 22, of Lawrence; and Estarling Perez Almonte, 28, of Roslindale.

All nine men are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Thursday.

The men all appeared in federal court in Boston and Bangor, Maine on Tuesday.

According to the charging documents, the men were part of a drug trafficking operation that regularly transported fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine from areas in Boston, Lawrence and Malden to locations in Waldo County, Maine.

Prosecutors allege that the men distributed the narcotics in Maine and then returned to Massachusetts with the narcotics proceeds.

Approximately 10 kilograms of fentanyl and multiple firearms were seized during the investigation, prosecutors said.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.

Assisting in the investigation were Boston Police, New Hampshire State Police, Maine State Police; Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Waldo, Maine County Sherriff’s Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation “identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States” using a multi-agency approach, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Additional information about the task force can be found at this website.

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