AG: 8 arrested in major South Shore drug trafficking operation

Eight individuals have been charged as a result of a joint state, local, and federal takedown of a major criminal network trafficking drugs throughout Boston and the South Shore, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

These charges are the result of a two-year investigation by the AG Healey’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force and partner agencies – including Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office and the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, the Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit, the Boston Police Department, the Randolph Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Massachusetts National Guard – into a drug distribution enterprise operating in Boston and the South Shore. The AG’s Digital Evidence Lab also assisted with the investigation.

Last week, authorities executed search warrants at four locations in Boston and one in Randolph netting approximately $300,000 in cash and 565 grams of fentanyl, along with cocaine, suboxone, two firearms, and ammunition.

The following individuals have been charged in connection with the drug trafficking operation:

Rafael Melo Brea, age 31, of Boston
Trafficking in Fentanyl (100-200 grams) (1 count)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)
Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Controlled Substance (Cocaine) (1 count)
Possession of Ammunition (1 count)

Melo Brea was arraigned in West Roxbury District Court on Friday and cash bail was set at $2,500. Yesterday, he was arraigned in Dorchester District Court and cash bail was set at $100,000 with the condition that he surrender any passports in his name.

Jorge Arias-Mendoza, age 32, of Boston
Trafficking in Fentanyl (200 Grams or More) (1 count)
Trafficking in Fentanyl (10 Grams or More) (5 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (2 counts)
Distribution of Class A Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), Subsequent Offense (3 counts)
Distribution of a Class B Controlled Substance (Cocaine), Subsequent Offense (1 count)

Possession of a Class B Controlled Substance (Suboxone) (1 count)

Arias-Mendoza was arraigned in Roxbury District Court on Thursday and cash bail was set at $50,000 with the conditions that he surrender any passports not recovered, stay away from and have no contact with Wander Pimentel, and be monitored by GPS. He will be arraigned in Brockton and Quincy District Courts at later dates.

Wander Pimentel, 27, of Randolph
Trafficking in Fentanyl (100-200 grams) (1 count)
Trafficking in Fentanyl (10 Grams or More) (13 counts)
Possession of a Class B Controlled Substance (Suboxone) (1 count)
Distribution of a Class A Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), Subsequent Offense (12 counts)
Distribution of a Class B Controlled Substance (Cocaine), Subsequent Offense (3 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (2 counts)

Pimentel was arraigned in Quincy District Court and bail was set at $50,000 with the conditions that he stay away from and have no contact with Arias-Mendoza. He will be arraigned in Brockton District Court at a later date.

Fernando Castro-Rodriguez, 28, of Boston
Trafficking in Cocaine (18-36 grams) (1 count)
Distribution of a Class A Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), Subsequent Offense (1 count)
Trafficking in Fentanyl (10 Grams or More) (5 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Castro-Rodriguez was arraigned in Quincy District Court on Friday. Cash bail was set at $5,000 and his bail was revoked on an open case in Stoughton. He will be arraigned in Brockton District Court at a later date.

Tracy Swaney, 25, Woonsocket, R.I.
Distribution of a Class A Controlled Substance (3 counts)
Trafficking in Fentanyl (10 Grams or More) (3 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Swaney was arraigned in Brockton District Court on Friday and cash bail was set at $5,000.

Bryce Jones, 25, of Boston
Distribution of a Class A Controlled Substance (Fentanyl) (2 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Jones was arraigned in Brockton District Court and released on personal recognizance.

Tyshawn Sanders, 24, of Boston
Distribution of a Class A Controlled Substance (Fentanyl) (2 counts)
Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws (1 count)

Sanders was arraigned in Boston and Quincy District Courts on Friday and released on personal recognizance.

Handerson Santos Diaz, 40, of Boston
Possession of a Firearm Without an FID Card (2 counts)
Possession of Ammunition Without an FID Card (1 count)

The AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force was created in 2016 using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Anti-Heroin Task Force and has since been strengthened with a nearly $3 million grant in 2018, a $2.6 million grant in 2019, and a $3.8 million grant in 2021, which have expanded ongoing multistate and cross-jurisdictional investigations.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Kaitlyn O’Leary and Caitlin McDermott, both of AG Healey’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division.