Three arrested in MA drug trafficking organization after hundreds of fentanyl pills found under pit bull’s bedding

Officers find drugs hidden in all sorts of places and this morning another one was added to the list.

Massachusetts State Police, local police, and members of a DEA Task Force executed two search warrants Wednesday morning in Lynn and Salem as part of an investigation into a North Shore drug trafficking organization. The warrants resulted in three arrests and the seizure of hundreds of pills pressed from fentanyl and a fentanyl-methamphetamine mix, several pounds of marijuana, two loaded semi-automatic pistols, two loaded magazines, and additional rounds of ammunition.

According to Dave Procopio of Massachusetts State Police, the investigation into the trafficking organization, which was conducted under the direction of the office of Attorney General Maura Healey, involved several controlled purchases of fentanyl and methamphetamine pills from three targets by an undercover Trooper. At one of the locations, the arrest team located the illegal narcotics hidden in a dog crate with a pit bull inside, secreted underneath the dog’s bedding.

Early Thursday morning, State Troopers, Lynn Police Officers and members of a DEA Task Force executed a search warrant on Broad Street, Lynn, of one of the investigation’s targets, 34-year-old Andre Wesley. Upon announcement of the warrant, the Massachusetts State Police Special Tactical Operations Team, the unit that undertakes high-risk entries, breached the exterior front entry door and the door to the target’s apartment. Inside the apartment, Troopers and Officers located Wesley, 28-year-old Giselle Gonzalez also of that address. They were placed under arrest on outstanding warrants and transported to the Lynn Police Department, where they were booked.

Inside the apartment, investigators located approximately 250 pills, weighing approximately 34 grams, believed to be pressed fentanyl. The pills were located under the bedding of a pit bull, who was inside the crate. Troopers and Officers were able to remove the dog, who was friendly, from the crate without incident. The dog, whose name was reportedly “Kilo,” is currently in possession of Lynn Animal Control. Kilo is currently in custody of North Shore Animal Hospital in Lynn.

As the search warrant in Lynn was being executed, Troopers and Salem Police Officers served an arrest warrant at an apartment at 3 Laurent Road, Salem, the residence of the third target, 24-year-old Joell Sosa. Members of the MSP STOP Team located Sosa in the apartment and placed him under arrest. Troopers observed several pounds of marijuana in plain view inside the apartment. Investigators then secured the apartment and obtained and executed a search warrant. The team recovered the following items from inside the apartment:

-A loaded Beretta 9mm firearm;
-A loaded Glock .45 caliber firearm;
-Two 9mm magazines containing ammunition;
-An additional 50 9mm rounds;
-Approximately 160 grams of pressed pills that field-tested positive for a fentanyl-methamphetamine compound.

The office of Attorney General Healey is prosecuting the defendants. The investigation was conducted by the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction and Enforcement Team’s North unit, along with Troopers from Attorney General Healey’s office and the MSP Gang Unit, Lynn Police, and members of a DEA Task Force.