(NewsNation) — Police in Massachusetts seized more than 200 pounds of suspected drugs last week after a monthslong investigation, according to authorities.
The investigation began in July, when an overdose death led FBI agents to a drug trafficking ring allegedly run by three men: Emilio Garcia, 25, Sebastien Bejin, 33, and Deiby Felix, 40. All three are now facing drug charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release.
The men were surveilled for three months before search warrants were served at four locations in Lynn, Massachusetts, and they were arrested Nov. 1.
“The searches resulted in, what is believed to be, one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts and the region,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
The drug bust netted more than 220 pounds of narcotics, including 20 pounds of pink heart-shaped fentanyl pills made to look like candy. The street value of the drugs is estimated to be up to $8 million.
“The only thing more depraved than trafficking deadly fentanyl is trafficking deadly fentanyl designed to look like candy to appeal to teenagers,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the release. “The Justice Department is focused on attacking every link in the global fentanyl trafficking chain, and we will not stop until those responsible for the fentanyl poisoning epidemic are brought to justice. We also continue to urge families to have open and honest conversations about the urgent threat posed by this epidemic, and the fact that just one pill can kill.”
The drugs were recovered from the basement of a two-story residential home that was occupied by multiple families and children, police said.
The drugs seized include:
- More than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of white powder and rock-like substances that field tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine base;
- More than 17 kilograms (37 pounds) of suspected raw methamphetamine, which equates to approximately more than 3.5 million individual doses;
- Approximately 280,000 counterfeit Percocet pills, believed to contain fentanyl, weighing 28 kilograms (61 pounds) with a street value in the range of approximately $1.4 million to over $7 million;
- More than 27 kilograms (59 pounds) of counterfeit Adderall pills, believed to contain methamphetamine; and
- Approximately 1.8 kilograms (four pounds) of brown rock and powder-like substances, which tested positive for cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine. This quantity of fentanyl equates to about 900,000 individual doses.
According to the indictment, Garcia and Bejin would travel to the stash house on a daily basis and bring drugs to supply lower-level dealers. One of the locations is where Felix resided. A search of his home yielded drugs matching those found in the main stash house.
The men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The defendants are set to appear in court Monday.
It’s not the first time police have recovered fentanyl made to look like candy. In May, officials in Ohio said they seized a stash of more than 1,000 brightly colored pills.
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning about the pills in August 2022, saying the “trend appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people.”
