Press Release  Three Charged in Connection with Lawrence Drug Trafficking Operation

Lawrence — Three men have been charged in connection with running a fentanyl trafficking operation out of Lawrence, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. These are the first charges the AG’s Office has brought under the new law that criminalizes the trafficking of the deadly drug. 

Milciades Castillo-Franco (a.k.a. Jose Nogue Resto, a.k.a. “Tony,”) age 42, Regla Santana (a.k.a. Miguel Carrasquillo) age 48, and Antulio Rivera, age 47, all of Lawrence, were indicted on Aug. 24 by an Essex Superior Court Grand Jury on the charges of Trafficking Fentanyl and Conspiracy to Violate the Controlled Substance Act. Castillo-Franco was charged with four counts of Trafficking Fentanyl and both Santana and Rivera were charged with two counts. Castillo-Franco and Santana were also charged with Furnishing a False Name at Arrest.

“Fentanyl is a deadly poison that is killing people in our state. We allege that these three defendants were distributing it onto the streets of Lawrence with a total disregard for human life,” said AG Healey. “This new law is helping us combat the trafficking of this lethal drug and protect those already struggling with addiction.”

Castillo-Franco and Santana were arraigned on Thursday, Sept. 8 in Salem Superior Court and each were held on $200,000 bail. They are due back in court on Oct. 24, 2016.  Rivera will be arraigned in Salem Superior Court tomorrow.

Castillo-Franco and Santana were arrested April 20 in a joint operation with State Police assigned to the AG’s Office and the Transportation Drug Unit (TDU) with assistance from the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NEHIDTA) and the Lawrence Police Department. State Police assigned to the AG’s Office and the TDU arrested Rivera today in Lawrence with assistance from Lawrence Police and the NEHIDTA. 

In February 2016, State Police began an investigation into an alleged drug trafficking organization they believed was responsible for distributing heroin and fentanyl in Lawrence.

Following the arrests of Castillo-Franco and Santana in April, authorities executed a search warrant for a Lawrence house where the defendants were allegedly selling the drugs. Authorities seized approximately 82 grams of fentanyl, seven pounds of narcotic mixing cut and materials known to be associated with drug packaging and distribution.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is estimated to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. Drug traffickers frequently mix the drug with heroin, without the knowledge of the buyer. It can be deadly in even low doses.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 1,531 people – the highest number ever recorded in the state – died from opioid overdoses last year. Nearly 50 percent of the confirmed deaths from opioid overdoses had a toxicology screen that tested positive for fentanyl. Essex County is among the three counties in the state with the highest rate of overdoses.

Legislation to criminalize the trafficking of fentanyl, filed by AG Healey and House Judiciary Chairman John Fernandes (D-Milford), was signed into law by Gov. Charles Baker in November 2015 and went into effect in February 2016.

Prior to the law going into effect, 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.

All of these charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Megan McLaughlin of AG Healey’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division, with assistance from State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police Transportation Drug Unit (TDU), the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NEHIDTA), the Lawrence Police Departments and the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab.

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