Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. Denaro represented Haverhill Police at a Concord, N.H., press conference this morning.
Four Haverhill residents and a Methuen man are among 25 from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and beyond, under federal indictments on heroin trafficking charges.
Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. Denaro represented the department at a news conference in Concord, N.H., Tuesday morning with U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice and Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New England Field Division, Michael J. Ferguson. A total 25 individuals, including Amy Tremblay, 35; Judith Ardolino, 53; Mary Levis, 59; and Kevin Roche, 49, each of Haverhill; and Ramon Rodriguez, 70, of Methuen, were recently indicted in federal court in Concord, N.H., in connection with their participation in heroin trafficking activities, according to a statement. One of two indictments, issued Oct. 5, charged them and four others with conspiring to distribute heroin. The other 16 were charged with participating in a conspiracy that distributed more than one kilogram of heroin. Most were arrested or in custody on other charges between Oct. 12 and Monday. Two suspects, Heibrahim DelValle Baez, 32, of Salem, Mass., and Santos Guerrero Morillo, 36, of the Dominican Republic, remain fugitives.
“DEA and its law enforcement partners have effectively dismantled the distribution and facilitation elements of this organization that are responsible for putting this poison on the streets of New Hampshire as well as throughout New England. DEA will aggressively pursue organizations or individuals who facilitate heroin and fentanyl by allowing out of state dealers to utilize their residences and provide customers to the dealers in order to profit and destroy people’s lives, and wreak havoc in the Granite State,” Ferguson said.
“Solving the opiate epidemic in New England requires a multi-pronged approach. Part of that solution is to prosecute individuals who are responsible for distributing heroin and who profit on the addiction of others. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute individuals who are responsible for the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and other opiates. This case is an example of the tremendous partnership among law enforcement agencies. I commend all of the agencies involved in this case for their teamwork and dedication in this investigation,” Rice said.
The case was the product of an investigation by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
In addition to the Haverhill Police Department, the case was investigated by DEA, Homeland Security Investigations; Massachusetts State Police; United States Marshals Service; New Hampshire State Police; Manchester, N.H. Police Department; Lawrence Police Department; Lowell Police Department; Methuen Police Department; and Hillsborough County Drug Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Donald Feith.
Excellent work DEA Please continue with your efforts in the battle against heroin use and abuse. Border security must be stepped up to prevent this terrible drug from entering our country. Increased education concerning the terrible issue of drug use can be a positive step within our school system. I’m thankful for the Haverhill Police Departments strong efforts in fighting this problem.
Meanwhile, Beacon Hill and CONgress Members continue to reap windfall campaign donations from opiate and fentanyl manufacturers, as well as their lobbies. Media coverage of that? Not happening.