Judge holds Peabody drug traffickers without bail

SALEM – Three men pleaded innocent to drug charges but were held without bail at their arraignments in Salem Superior Court Tuesday, after police said the men were arrested with 11 kilos of cocaine at a Peabody hotel in December.Jason Grilli, 38, of Laval, Quebec and Valentine Torres, 33, an American citizen with an unknown residence, entered pleas of innocent to charges of trafficking in cocaine over 200 grams and conspiracy to violate drug laws at their arraignments. Gerardo Rodriguez Flores, 27, of Tucson, Ariz. entered the same plea to a charge of conspiracy to violate drug laws.Judge John T. Lu ordered the men held without bail and without prejudice until a pretrial conference scheduled for Feb. 15.”They return to court on Feb. 15 for a pretrial conference at which point we expect bail to be argued,” said O’Connell.Peabody Police and members of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Essex County Drug Task Force arrested the men at the Holiday Inn on Newbury Street in Peabody Dec. 21 after receiving a tip from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that a large drug deal was planned.Police set up surveillance and arrested Grilli in the hotel’s parking lot with a duffel bag containing 11 kilos of cocaine worth approximately $1.1 million, according to police reports. The other men were arrested inside the hotel, the report notes.Canadian police officials told the Daily Item the drugs were believed to be headed to Quebec.Peabody Police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said he believed the incident involved the largest recovery of drugs in Peabody during his 23-year tenure.The men have been held without bail since all three were arraigned on trafficking and conspiracy charges in Peabody District Court on Dec. 22.”You present evidence to the grand jury and the grand jury hands out the indictments they think are appropriate based on the evidence,” O’Connell said when asked why the charges against Flores had changed.Torres and Grilli both face a 20-year maximum sentence with a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence in state prison for trafficking and conspiracy charges, according to O’Connell. He said Flores faces up to 20 years in state prison for the conspiracy charge.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].