Nearly 5 Pounds Of Fentanyl Seized In Worcester Raid

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester police and state police detectives with the Worcester County District Attorney's Office seized almost five pounds of deadly synthetic opioids from an Indian Lake apartment last week. One man has been charged with drug trafficking in connection to the raid.

Police served a search warrant on an apartment at 11 Boardman St on Dec. 10. Inside, they found about 2,200 grams of fentanyl and over $2,500 in cash. They arrested Jonly Dominguez, 33, and charged him with trafficking a controlled substance, distributing a controlled substance, and conspiracy to violate drug laws. He was held in jail on $100,000 bail after a Dec. 10 arraignment.

Detectives learned about possible drug trafficking out of the apartment during a larger investigation into drug sales in Worcester, according to DA Joseph Early's office.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is the top cause of deadly drug overdoses in the state, according to the state Department of Public Health. Fentanyl is often mixed with drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. As of November, 903 people had died in Massachusetts in 2019 of opioid overdoses — fentanyl was present in 93 percent of those overdoses, according to DPH.

"The battle against drug traffickers is one we fight daily, hand in hand with our partners in prosecutors’ offices, such as District Attorney Early, the impacted community, and local police departments. The arrest of Jonly Dominguez and the seizure of more than two kilograms of deadly fentanyl is a great example of that," state police Col Christopher Mason said in a press release.