42-year-old Massachusetts man arrested after thousands of pills, kilo-sized brick of powder, $250,000 in cash seized

Authorities seized thousands of orange and blue pills, a kilo-sized brick of powder, and nearly $250,000 in cash in a drug bust at the Crestshire Drive home of 42-year-old Manuel Barroso, in Lawrence, Mass., Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and Acting Lawrence Police Chief Melix Bonilla announced.

The Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit for Essex County, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Lawrence Police Department executed the warrant Friday. Barroso was taken into custody and initially charged with two felonies: trafficking more than 200 grams of fentanyl and trafficking more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, both in relation to an earlier discovery – on May 22 of this year – of a pill press operation found in a basement apartment on Salem Street in Lawrence.

At the May discovery, Essex SPDU and Lawrence police executed a search warrant yielding several five-gallon buckets of orange powder, many bags of pills, and a pill press. Seeking the occupants of the basement apartment, investigators found evidence leading them to Barroso, who is now likely to face additional charges in the wake of the new drug bust.

“Apprehending and prosecuting those dealing in these dangerous, often deadly, illegal drugs and getting these substances off of the streets makes our communities safer,” says Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker.

Trp. David Strong and Trp. Eric Rajkowski served as case officers for SPDU on the investigation. Barroso, who is being represented by defense attorney Michael Downing, was arraigned in Lawrence District Court on Friday, where he pled not guilty and was held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court for a detention hearing on July 10 at 9 a.m.