Nearly two dozen individuals were charged in connection with a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization that allegedly manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing narcotics, State Police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts announced Wednesday.
Of the 23 people charged, seven lived in Lynn, three lived in Saugus, another three lived in Swampscott, and one lived in Peabody. The remainder of the alleged members live in Beverly, Billerica, Danvers, Somerville, Revere, and Roslindale. The alleged ring-leaders of the organization, Lawrence Michael Nagle and Christopher Nagle, resided in Saugus and Revere, respectively, State Police and U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a statement.
All 23 people are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances.
Lawrence Michael Nagle and Christopher Nagle were identified by law enforcement in 2018 as the alleged leaders of the organization, which distributed various controlled substances across the North Shore, including Adderall, methamphetamine, Xanax, Oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana, among others, the statement said. Some of the Adderall and Oxycodone pills allegedly distributed by the Nagles as part of the organization were counterfeit, and contained methamphetamine and fentanyl, respectively.
The organization allegedly operated by the Nagles distributed the drugs to a small network of individuals who would then redistribute the drugs to other traffickers, including separate, but interconnected, organizations allegedly operated by Nelson Mora, of Lynn, Javier Bello, of Beverly, and Anthony Bryson, of Billerica. Mora, Bello, and Bryson allegedly obtained their supply of drugs from other sources aside from the Nagles, and officials believe Mora and Bryson had access to pill press machines used to create counterfeit pills.
“These charges are an important step in slowing and ending the near constant stream of illegal drugs flowing into our communities,” said Rollins in the statement. “As a result of this investigation, North Shore residents are safer now with more than 74,000 potentially deadly pills removed from their streets.”
The investigation resulted in numerous seizures of controlled substances, including over 74,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, weighing more than 24 kilograms; 591 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine; 1,000 counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl; and 101 counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.
During the execution of federal search warrants Tuesday, investigators discovered a pill press concealed under a sheet in a basement laundry room, plastic bags containing approximately three to four kilograms of suspected powdered fentanyl in various colors, various quantities of suspected counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, and various quantities of suspected counterfeit oxycodone containing fentanyl, the statement said. Investigators also seized a firearm and additional suspected counterfeit pills containing controlled substances from inside a furniture hide.
Many of the counterfeit pills were packaged for sale, according to the statement.
“The practice of disguising fentanyl and other dangerous drugs as prescription medication is especially nefarious for the dangers it poses to unsuspecting users and the new addictions it fuels. I commend the Drug Enforcement Agency, our Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Trafficking Reduction and Enforcement task force, and the multiple partner agencies for their superb work interdicting this drug organization. The neighborhoods of the North Shore are safer today for their efforts,” said Colonel Christopher Mason, the State Police superintendent.
In addition to Lawrence Michael Nagle, Christopher Nagle, Mora, Bello, and Bryson; Frantz Adolphe, 28, of Lynn, Raymond Kulakowski, 36, of Lynn, Soyanna Lages, 33, of Somerville, David Muise, 35, of Swampscott, David Delauri, 30, of Haverhill, Savannah Lee Bartone, 35, of Peabody, Lawrence M. Nagle Sr., 54, of Lynn, Alexander Villar, 33 of Danvers, Savannah Lee Bartone, 35, of Peabody, Kion Shepherd, 31, of Salem, Melvin Nieves, 23, of Lynn, Erick Solis Lopez, 24, of Salem, Christopher Tejeda, 21, of Lynn, Edward Ortiz, 32, of Swampscott, Justin Westmoreland, 24, of Saugus, Yaira Ramos-Rivera, 39, of Billerica, Jose Garcia, 45, of Roslindale, Anna Bryson, 59, of Saugus, and Chevon Dorce, 43, of Lynn were all charged for their alleged participation in the organization.
All 23 could face up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million if convicted. Arraignment information for all of the alleged members of the organization was not immediately available. Lynn Police Chief Chris Reddy said he could not immediately comment on the charges.
“Massachusetts is in the midst of a devastating opioid crisis as deaths from deadly fake pills soar. The DEA will continue to use every resource available to identify those who are contributing to the crisis,” said Brian D. Boyle, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to put other callous distributors behind bars.”
Anthony Cammalleri of the Item staff contributed to this report. Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
