North Andover Police Arrest Two With 126 grams of Fentanyl

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- Police arrested a woman from Maine and a man from Lawrence Monday in what one police official described as the biggest Fentanyl bust in his history. Samantha Russell, 25 of Eliot, Maine, and Mario Cardenas, 24, of Lawrence, are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Lawrence District Court on trafficking charges.

According to the Eagle-Tribuen, which first reported this story, police witnessed a drug transaction in the North Andover Mall at 2:30 pm Monday. Russell was detained in the mall while Cardenas was pulled over on his way back to Lawrence. Police recovered 126 grams of Fentanyl and $1,700 in cash.

"This is our largest fentanyl arrest in my memory," Lt. Eric Foulds told the newspaper.

For more on this story, see the Eagle Tribune. Subscribe to North Andover Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.