Police: Man caught with cocaine part of Colombian drug ring

LYNN – A judge set $25,000 cash bail for a man arrested with 75 grams of suspected cocaine who police say is part of a Colombian drug-trafficking ring trying to establish a new smuggling route between Mexico and Boston.”Intelligence gathered thus far has shown that this drug trafficking organization (DTO) smuggles multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia to distribution points in the U.S.,” Massachusetts State Trooper Orland Tirella wrote in a report. “Recent intelligence has indicated that the DTO is also seeking to transport large loads of cocaine from the Southwest border directly to Boston through Mexican transportation sources.”But a public defender questioned whether the defendant was arrested based on anything more than a “very nice story about drug trafficking.””It may all be true, I don’t know, but it’s not part and parcel to (the defendant’s arrest), which is after some oblique conversation, they decide to stop the car,” Public Defender Rebecca Whitehill said.Macias Macias-Vargas, alias Orlando Alvarez-Villarini, 30, of 29 Leyden St. #1, E. Boston, was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking; giving police a false name/Social Security number; and forgery of a Registry of Motor Vehicles document; at 2 p.m. Monday.Macias-Vargas was arraigned Tuesday in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.State Police said the arrest resulted from an investigation dubbed “Operation Colombia Express.” Police said the operation targets a drug-trafficking and money-laundering network that imports Colombian cocaine to New York/New Jersey then distributes the drug through those states as well as through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida and other states.Police reported officials are primarily targeting two Colombians, both of whom have been previously deported and have returned to the United States, who have coordinated drug-trafficking activities and found a new source of drugs from Mexico.Using wiretaps beginning this July, officials tracked a teal Volvo registered to the defendant, allegedly using the alias of Alvarez-Villarini, and other vehicles traveling between addresses in Revere and Saugus believed to be involved in the distribution network, according to court documents.Police reported intercepting a conversation Monday between the defendant and one of the primary targets discussing an argument the defendant had with a “Chimba.””It is the collective belief of the investigators working this case that (the defendant) was referencing giving back narcotics and his vehicle to Chimba,” police reported.Police said they tracked the defendant as he drove the Volvo the following day, stopping the vehicle at Kmart in Saugus. Police reported a K-9 unit found 75 grams of suspected cocaine from the car, some hidden in fake containers of mini Oreo cookies and Hershey’s chocolate milk.Police arrested the defendant, identified through fingerprints as a Colombian citizen named Macias-Vargas.Essex Assistant District Attorney Justin Edwards requested Macias-Vargas be held on $250,000, citing the defendant’s connection to a Colombian drug ring, use of an alias and a supporting Massachusetts Driver’s license, and the amount of cocaine recovered. Edwards said the cocaine was worth approximately $15,000 on the local streets.But Whitehill said her client insisted his name was Alvarez-Villarini and that he was not Colombian. She said Macias Macias-Vargas was like having a name of “Smith Johnson-Smith,” and unlikely.Whitehill also questioned why an alleged “big-time Colombian drug dealer” had no one in the courtroom to bail him out.”Are you suggesting that when I set bail, I should look around and see if there’s anybody who’s going to bail this guy?” Judge Jim LaMothe asked.Whitehill suggested this is what the Commonwealth does in requesting a bail Macias-Vargas has no chance to post.Whitehill requested $5,000 or $10,000 cash bail, noting that immigration officials had filed a detainer, so the defendant