25 Charged In Drug Trafficking Ring Spanning MA, Rhode Island

MASSACHUSETTS — Twenty-five people are facing charges in a large-scale drug trafficking ring that federal prosecutors said distributed fentanyl and cocaine across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts, law enforcement began an investigation into a large-scale drug dispatch service operating in and around Boston. Throughout the investigation, authorities learned of undercover drug purchases and intercepted communications tying more than two dozen people to the operation.

More than 2.3 kilograms of fentanyl, 12 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, 300 grams of cocaine, six guns and approximately $400,000 were seized during the investigation, prosecutors said.

"We allege that these defendants exploited addiction for personal profit and with full knowledge that the drugs they were peddling could be lethal," U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. "They allegedly raked in $20,000 a day at the expense of the lives and safety of people suffering from drug addiction."

To date, 19 people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Six defendants remain at large. Those arrested were:

1. Yulial Cuello-Reynoso, 33, of Leominster
2. Yordania Abel Rivera, 33, of Leominster
3. Jorge Vizcaino Vizcaino, 24, of Boston
4. Rafael Concepcion, 34, of Boston
5. Alinson Joel Ortiz Arias, 32, of Boston
6. Axel Brea Baez, 25, of Boston
7. Denly Soto-Tejeda, 25, of Manchester, N.H.
8. Yeiron Vizcaino Vizcaino, 28, of Boston
9. Alberto Gonzalez, 36, of Boston
10. Luis Guerrero, 25, of Lawrence
11. Mariela Cuello Reynoso, 30, of Boston
12. Elisbania Tejeda-Soto, 25, of Boston
13. Rubert Adrian Jimenez, 24, of Boston
14. Adrian Suncar-Gonzalez, 38, of Boston
15. Johangel Mejia-Hernandez, 22, of Boston
16. Francisco Tavarez Contreras, 43, of Boston
17. Santo Franco-Sanchez, 42, of Brookline
18. Carlos Abel Rivera, 34, of North Smithfield, R.I.
19. Anthony Cuoco, 43, of Barnstable

According to court documents, the drug trafficking organization was led by Cuello-Reynoso, who ran a drug customer order telephone and employed distributors and stash house operators to process, store, and distribute narcotics.

Prosecutors said the ring distributed approximately $20,000 worth of drugs per day and maintained multiple stash locations simultaneously. The organization also used a color-coding system to differentiate between the drugs it sold and frequently concealed the substances in socks within the engine compartments of cars driven by distributors.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.