Press Release  Boston Man Arrested and Charged in Fentanyl Takedown

LAWRENCE — A Boston man has been arrested and arraigned as a result of a takedown by the Attorney General’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force that recovered 522 grams of fentanyl and $20,000 in cash, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today.

John Vargas Ordonez, age 41, of Boston was arrested January 12 in Andover during the execution of a search warrant at a stash house in Andover. The arrest is the result of an investigation by the AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force, which included eight controlled fentanyl purchases by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office.

Ordonez was arraigned in Lawrence District Court on the charges of Trafficking in Fentanyl, 200 Grams or More (1 count); Trafficking Fentanyl, 36 Grams or More (6 counts); and Trafficking Fentanyl, 18 Grams or More (2 counts). Judge Michael Uhlarik set bail at $500,000. He is due back in court on February 17 for a probable cause hearing.

These charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  

The Attorney General’s Office has prioritized combatting the opioid crisis and has been working closely with federal, state and local partners to fight illegal drug trafficking throughout New England. The AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force was created in 2016 using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Anti-Heroin Task Force and has since been strengthened with a nearly $3 million grant in 2018, a $2.6 million grant in 2019 and a $3.8 million grant in 2021, which have expanded ongoing multistate and cross-jurisdictional investigations. Since its launch, the Strike Force has seized more than 439 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, including tens of thousands of opioid pills, and millions of dollars in cash and arrested more than 580 suspects.  

The case is being prosecuted by Managing Attorney Jennifer Kirshenbaum of the AG’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division.   

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