Charlestown Restaurant Scene of Huge Drug Bust

Five Charlestown men were arrested Monday in relation to a huge drug bust at a D'Raffa Restaurant, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Rosselys Esthefanie Pimental-Melo, 23, Matea Sanchez, 60, Juan Guerrero-Tejada, 28, Raphael Pimental, 46, and Ada Mejia-Mejia have been charged with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession to distribute heroin.

Pimental-Melo was held on $100,000 bail, Sanchez on $50,000, and Guerrero-Tejada on $80,000. They also will be subject to GPS monitoring and stay-away orders.

Prosecutors said Boston and State Police as well as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Boston Strike Force had concluded a lengthy investigation Monday afternoon at the D'Raffa Restaurant on Bunker Hill Street. When they entered, they found Pimental in the basement and Guerrero-Tejeda, Mejia-Mejia, Pimental-Melo, and Sanchez behind the counter.

Investigators found 520 grams of white powder that field-tested positive for fentanyl behind a basement freeze. They also found four plastic bags, each containing smaller bags of what appeared to be heroin and crack cocaine in a shelf under the cash register behind the counter.

“When overdoses claim three times more lives than gun violence and car crashes combined, we can’t pretend that drug trafficking is a victimless crime,” Conley said. “It goes hand in hand with violence, death, and despair. This investigation and seizure saved lives.”

Photo courtesy of Suffolk DA