Six arrested in regional drug sweep

LYNN – Thousands of illegal pills including Oxycodone are off the street after a huge sweep by local, state and federal law enforcement Friday morning.Drug enforcement agents and local and state police executed 10 search warrants in Lynn, Peabody, Salem and Danvers as six North Shore men, including two from Lynn, were arrested, according to a press release from Essex County District Attorney?s office.Police seized thousands of pills more than $50,000 in cash and one gun.?It was an important collaborative effort from federal, state and local agencies,” said Carrie Kimball Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex County DA?s office. “It was everybody?s hard work at each level to get to the point where we had search warrants and arrest warrants to execute. Prescription drug abuse is a stubborn problem not just in this area, but nationwide. With the amount of pills seized, it?s a significant dent in the availability of that drug.”Henry Hernandez, 36, of 32 Columbia Ave., Lynn, was arraigned in Peabody District Court Friday on two counts of trafficking Oxycodone. He was held on $100,000 cash and will appear in court again on Nov. 15 for a status hearing.Celton Pelaez, 36, of 84 Aborn St., Peabody, was arraigned in Peabody District Court for trafficking Oxycodone, possession of class B drug and possession of a class D drug. He was held on $100,000 cash and will appear in court again on Nov. 15 for a status hearing.Joel Gonzalez, 32, of 44 Lawrence Road, Lynn, was arraigned in Salem District Court for sale of a fire arm and possession of a firearm with a prior violent crime. He was held on $10,000 cash and his bail in a current case was revoked. He will be back in court on Nov. 14 for a probable cause hearing.Two Salem men and one Danvers man are also facing charges including trafficking heroin, trafficking Oxycodone and firearm possession.Kimball Monahan said it?s still unclear if there is any connection between the suspects.?Since this is such a broad investigation, and this is one piece of it, I expect further arrests and the connections to maybe become more apparent as that happens,” she said.Kimball Monahan said the number of pills seized also isn?t known yet, as authorities are processing all of the evidence.?We had three people charged with trafficking, so that?s a significant amount of pills,” she said.With drug overdoses plaguing the area lately, including six people with Saugus ties and another death in Saugus Thursday night, Kimball Monahan said prescription drugs are an important target for law enforcement.?We know prescription drugs very often lead to heroin, which I think is probably the cause of many of the overdoses,” she said. “In terms of prevention work, we can?t say enough about how dangerous prescription drugs are.?They?re so difficult because they?re subscribed by a doctor, but if they?re not prescribed to you, they can be lethal. That?s a difficult message that has to be continuously communicated to young people and across the board. This isn?t a problem that affects just one type of person or one type of community.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].