Press Release  Four Individuals Arrested, Arraigned on Drug Trafficking Charges by the AG’s Fentanyl Strike Force

Boston — Months after the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office won a new $3 million federal grant to support its Fentanyl Strike Force, four individuals were arrested and arraigned in Lawrence District Court in connection with a fentanyl trafficking operation as part of a joint federal and state investigation, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.   

The arrests are part of a two-month long investigation by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team (CINRET) and the Drug Enforcement Administration that led to the seizure of approximately 770 grams of fentanyl.

The following individuals were arrested in connection with the trafficking operation on March 5 in Lawrence and were arraigned March 6 in Lawrence District Court on the following charges:

Alex Martinez, 32, of Lawrence
Trafficking Over 10 Grams of Fentanyl (four counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (one count)  
Bail set at $250,000 cash

Jean Marte-Velazquez, 27, of Lawrence
Trafficking Over 10 Grams of Fentanyl (two counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (one count)
Bail set at $250,000 cash

Severino Perez-Guzman, 29, of Lawrence
Trafficking Over 10 Grams of Fentanyl (two counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (one count)
Bail set at $250,000 cash

Genesis Fernandez, 26, of Lawrence
Trafficking Over 10 Grams of Fentanyl (one count)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (one count)
Bail set at $35,000 cash

Judge Kevin Gaffney set a probable cause hearing for April 3.

This investigation is ongoing. These charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The AG’s Office has been working closely with its federal, state and local partners to combat illegal drug trafficking, and formed a Fentanyl Strike Force to aggressively combat the heroin and prescription drug abuse crisis in New England.

In October, the AG’s Office announced the Fentanyl Strike Force had been awarded a nearly $3 million grant to expand its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and disrupt drug and fentanyl trafficking throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The AG’s Office won this grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Anti-Heroin Task Force grant program and was one of just 17 proposals funded nationally and the only awarded in New England.

This case is being prosecuted by Division Chief Gina Kwon of the AG’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division.

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