Cape Cod Man Charged In Sweeping Multi-State Fentanyl, Cocaine Case

BARNSTABLE, MA — One Cape Cod man is among 25 people who face charges related to a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy case involving fentanyl and cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said.

Anthony Cuoco, 43, of Barnstable, faces charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Twenty-four others face the same charges and have been apprehended, while officials said six others remain at large.

Officials said they seized over 2.3 kilograms of fentanyl, 12 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, 300 grams of cocaine, six firearms and approximately $400,000 during the investigation.

“Communities across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island are safer today because of this takedown that dismantled a sophisticated and large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in plain sight. We allege that these defendants exploited addiction for personal profit and with full knowledge that the drugs they were peddling could be lethal. They allegedly raked in $20,000 a day at the expense of the lives and safety of people suffering from drug addiction,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

An investigation into what officials are calling a "large-scale drug dispatch service operating in and around Boston" began in March 2022, officials said.

"Over the course of the investigation, undercover drug purchases and intercepted communications established that the defendants allegedly distributed fentanyl and cocaine throughout eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island," officials said.

Specifically, it is alleged that the drug trafficking organization is led by Yulial Cuello-Reynoso, who operated a drug customer order telephone and employed distributors and stash house operators to process, store and distribute narcotics.

The organization allegedly distributed approximately $20,000 worth of drugs per day and maintained multiple stash locations simultaneously. The organization also allegedly employed a color-coding system to differentiate between the drugs (fentanyl, crack cocaine and powder cocaine) it sold and frequently concealed drugs in socks within the engine compartments of cars driven by distributors.

Some of the defendants openly discussed the dangers of the drugs they were distributing, officials said.

For example, when referring to drug customers, Tejeda-Soto allegedly stated in an intercepted call, "those people like the stuff that kills them."