Fall River Police, FBI Boston, K9, combine to arrest alleged repeat offender in New Bedford after Fall River stash house leads to over 1 kilo of drugs, firearm

Multiple agencies combined to make an arrest of a local man with prior drug and gun convictions.

According to police, on Friday, members of the Fall River Police Department’s Community Action and Suppression Team (C.A.S.T.) assisted the FBI Metro Boston Gang Task Force and the Massachusetts Department of Correction in an investigation involving Justin Russell.

In 2018, Fall River Police detectives arrested Russell following a narcotics investigation and the execution of a search warrant at his residence on Howland Street. During that search, detectives recovered trafficking quantities of cocaine and an illegally possessed firearm. Russell later pleaded guilty in Superior Court to cocaine trafficking and firearm-related charges and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.

On Friday, an FRPD Detective assigned to the FBI Metro Boston Gang Task Force developed information that Russell had allegedly stored a significant quantity of illegal narcotics inside his former residence on Howland Street. The property was vacant, uninhabitable and without electricity or running water.

Investigators obtained a search warrant, which was executed with assistance from the Fall River Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit.

Searching the deteriorated property proved difficult. Crime Scene detectives responded with lighting equipment, and FRPD K9 Marta, joined the search.

After nearly an hour, K9 Marta entered a dirt crawl space beneath the rear of the residence and alerted detectives to the presence of narcotics.

A search of that area resulted in the recovery of over one kilogram of suspected cocaine and a loaded 9mm firearm.

Russell was not inside the residence when the warrant was executed, but investigators located and arrested him in New Bedford on other charges later that same day.

Russell is facing charges including Trafficking Cocaine, 200 Grams or More, Subsequent-Offense Firearm Charges, and Armed Career Criminal.

This investigation was a coordinated effort involving federal, state and local law enforcement and an especially determined four-legged detective.

FRPD noted that “assigning officers to federal task forces strengthens partnerships, expands access to intelligence and specialized resources, and allows investigations to reach beyond jurisdictional boundaries. These relationships help us identify dangerous offenders, disrupt criminal organizations, and make our community safer.”

Russell is expected to be arraigned Monday in Fall River District Court.

The new charges are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court