Dozens of baggies containing heroin, along with evidence of packaging and distribution, were recovered late last week amid a drug trafficking investigation by Revere and State Police. Credit: Suffolk County DA
A four-month investigation that included more than a dozen undercover drug buys culminated this weekend in the seizure of a handgun, ammunition, more than a kilogram of heroin, and more than $3,000 in cash, investigators said today.
Jean Carlos Orfil Arias Tejada, 24, of Brighton, Enyer Osiel Martinez-Avalos, 23, of Revere, and Rafael Mayosnet-Pagan, 24 of Revere were arraigned yesterday in Chelsea District Court. All three are charged with 13 counts of distribution of a Class A substance, as well as two counts of trafficking in a Class A substance, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to authorities.
Tejada and Martinez-Avalos are additionally charged with possession of a fraudulent documents for presenting Massachusetts driver’s licenses that identified them as “Luis Padilla-Lopez” and “Jose Emmanuel Velez,” respectively.
Judge James Wexler set bail at $25,000 for Maysonet-Pagan and $75,000 for Martinez-Avalos and Tejeda. The latter two defendants were also held on an immigration detainer sought by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials.
“The tactics of narcotics traffickers are constantly changing,” Revere police Chief Joseph Cafarelli said. “This should send a message that Revere and state police will adjust to those changes and with the use of technology do whatever it takes to curb the flow of drugs into Revere.”
After making 13 separate narcotics purchases from Tejada and Martinez-Avalos throughout the summer, members of a joint task force of Revere and state police detectives assigned to Conley’s office arranged to purchase 40 grams of heroin from them on the morning of Oct. 11.
As troopers arranged the deal with Tejada by phone, Revere detectives surveilled Martinez-Avalos, who soon walked to meet the undercover troopers on Sumner Street while Maysonet-Pagan followed behind him in a BMW X3. The vehicle was also tracked through a GPS device that had been installed as part of a search warrant. Once the deal in the troopers’ car was complete, additional officers moved in to arrest both suspects.
Following the arrests, investigators executed a series of search warrants on Martinez-Avalos’ residence on Thornton Street and Tejada’s residence on North Beacon Street. Taking part in that process were uniformed Revere Police, members of the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, State Police assigned to the K9 Unit, Gang Unit, Crime Scene Services Section, and Troop A Community Action Team. They were joined by Boston, Chelsea and Winthrop police officers as well as federal agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security.
The warrant at Martinez-Avalos’ home yielded about 44 grams of heroin, a device used to press heroin into a compact and easily concealed form, five rounds of .38 caliber ammunition, and scales, baggies and other items used in drug distribution. The warrant at Tejada’s home yielded just over $3,000 in cash. Tejada was home at the time and had his phone with him; when investigators called the number through which they had made the previous 13 undercover drug purchases, his phone began to ring. He was placed under arrest as well.
As a result of the search warrants and interviews with all three suspects, investigators developed additional evidence that the trio had an additional kilogram of heroin at a third location – a “stash house” on Beach Street in Revere. That apartment contained only an air mattress, a small table and a suitcase. Inside the suitcase were a kilogram of heroin and two shoeboxes. In one shoebox were a large number of small baggies containing heroin and a scale, and in the other was a .38 caliber Amadeo Rossi revolver.
“This crew was successful enough in its operations to rent an apartment solely to store drugs and weapons,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conleysaid. “They brought a steady supply of a dangerous, addictive drug into this community, and now they’re going to pay the price.”
The three defendants were represented by attorneys Anthony Fugate, William Keefe, and Gilbert Schipani. They will return to court on Nov. 15.
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