$20,000 Heroin Seized: Waltham Man Indicted on Charges

A Waltham man has been indicted on charges of trafficking heroin and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Darvin Estrada, 26, of Waltham, will be arraigned on Thursday, April 2, in Middlesex Superior Court, announced Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

“This incident is another example of the mail service being used to transport heroin and other controlled substances,” said Ryan in a release. “This alleged behavior illustrates the way in which the movement of large quantities of controlled substances has become a business and how those involved are increasingly using a ‘hands off’ economical means of transport. The investigation into this choice for drug trafficking reflects how we must come at the overdose problem from many directions, including prosecuting those who are profiting, treating those who are addicted, and collaborating on education and prevention programs.”

Mass. State Police arrested Estrada on Dec. 11, 2014, after Estrada picked up a package delivered to a convenience store at 220 River St. in Waltham. Shipped from Guatemala, it was intercepted in Miami by Customs and Border Protection of the Homeland Security Department. The package was delivered to the store by undercover agents. It contained a quantity of heroin worth a street value of more than $20,000 and numerous pills weighing more than 200 grams.

Trafficking in this quantity of heroin carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a minimum mandatory sentence of 12 years imprisonment.