Three Lawrence Men Charged with Trafficking Fentanyl

LAWRENCE, MA — Three Lawrence men were charged with running a fentanyl trafficking operation out of the city on Aug. 24, according to Attorney General Maura Healy.

Milciades Castillo-Franco (a.k.a. Jose Nogue Resto, a.k.a. “Tony,”) 42, Regla Santana (a.k.a. Miguel Carrasquillo) 48, and Antulio Rivera, age 47, all of Lawrence were indicted by an Essex Superior Court Grand Jury on Aug. 24 on charges of trafficking Fentanyl and conspiracy to violate the controlled substance act. Castillo-Franco was charged with four counts of trafficking fentanyl; with Santana and Rivera charged with two counts.

Castillo-Franco and Santana were also charged with furnishing a false name at arrest, according to the Attorney General's office. The charges were the first brought by the attorney general's office that criminalizes Fentanyl trafficking.

“Fentanyl is a deadly poison that is killing people in our state. We allege that these three defendants were distributing it onto the streets of Lawrence with a total disregard for human life,” said Healey in statement. “This new law is helping us combat the trafficking of this lethal drug and protect those already struggling with addiction.”

According to the release, Castillo-Franco and Santana were arrested April 20 by various law enforcement agencies. Officers arrested Rivera today in Lawrence. The arrests were a result of an investigation which began in 2016.

Following their arrests, authorities executed a search warrant for a Lawrence house where the defendants were allegedly selling the drugs. Around 82 grams of fentanyl and seven pounds of narcotic mixing cut and materials known to be associated with drug packing and distribution.

Fentanyl is estimated to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. According to the Attorney General's office , Nearly 50 percent of the confirmed deaths from opioid overdoses last year had a toxicology screen that tested positive for fentanyl.

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