Press Release  Lowell Man Indicted on Trafficking More Than Two Kilos of Fentanyl and Illegal Firearm Possession Charges

Boston — A Lowell man was indicted today by a Middlesex County Grand Jury in connection with trafficking more than two kilos of fentanyl and illegally possessing six firearms, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Steven Lessard, 31, was arrested in March 2018 as part of a joint operation by State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the New Hampshire U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team (CINRET), and the Lowell Police Department.

Lessard was indicted on the following charges:

Trafficking of Fentanyl over 10 Grams (one count)
Possession of a Large Capacity Weapon (two counts)
Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device (four counts)
Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm During a Felony (two counts)
Possession of a Firearm During a Felony (four counts)
Possession of a Firearm (four counts)
Possession of Ammunition (one count)
Improper Storage of a Large Capacity Firearm (two counts)
Improper Storage of a Firearm (four counts)

Lessard will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date and is being held on $100,000 cash bail out of Lowell District Court.

Authorities arrested Lessard after discovering 2,100 grams of fentanyl and six firearms, including two large-capacity guns, while executing a search warrant at his home in Lowell.

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

Since taking office, AG Healey has made combatting the opioid epidemic a priority. AG Healey filed and advocated for state legislation criminalizing the trafficking of fentanyl that was passed into law in February 2016. Before the law was passed, drug traffickers could only be charged with the lesser crimes of manufacturing, distributing or possessing fentanyl, regardless of the quantity of the drug they were caught with.

In partnership with the Massachusetts State Police, the AG’s Office formed a Fentanyl Strike Force with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The strike force works to target heroin and fentanyl traffickers and dismantle their distribution networks across Massachusetts. The funds have expanded the AG’s Office’s own drug enforcement work and helped build enhanced partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Gina Kwon, Deputy Chief of AG Healey’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division. The case was investigated by State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the New Hampshire U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team (CINRET), and the Lowell Police Department.

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