Fentanyl-laced pills masquerading as sweet little pink candy hearts were among the 10 million doses of controlled substances recently seized by agents in the FBI Boston Field Office’s North Shore Gang Task Force. Close up, the heart-shaped drugs look like candy conversation hearts commonly seen around Valentine’s Day, investigators said.
Three men from Lynn, Massachusetts, were arrested on Nov. 1 in connection with the seizure, after agents conducted searches at four Lynn locations and found more than $8 million worth of drugs.
In one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts, more than 220 pounds of controlled substances were seized, including 20 pounds of the candy-like pink heart-shaped fentanyl-laced pills; 22 pounds of white powder and rock-like substances that field tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine base; 37 pounds of suspected raw methamphetamine, which roughly equates to more than 3.5 million individual doses; and 280,000 counterfeit Percocet pills believed to contain fentanyl, weighing 61 pounds.
The counterfeit Percocet has a street value ranging from $1.4 million to more than $7 million, according to an FBI statement.
Also seized were 59 pounds of counterfeit Adderall pills, believed to contain methamphetamine; and 4 pounds of brown rock and powder-like substances, which tested positive for cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. This quantity of fentanyl alone equates to about 900,000 individual doses.
“The doses of controlled substances seized in this case exceed the number of residents in Massachusetts,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy said in a statement.
“The fact that we now are seeing fentanyl-laced pills pressed to resemble candy only underscores the urgency of this fentanyl crisis.”
The accused are Emilio Garcia, 25; Sebastien Bejin, 33; and Deiby Felix, 40, each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute and one count of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The three men were expected to appear in U.S. District Court on Nov. 13.
Mr. Garcia has been found guilty in prior arrests on charges including assault and battery in 2016; possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute in 2019; and multiple counts of armed robbery and possession of a firearm in 2016, for which he spent two years in state prison.
Mr. Felix has prior convictions of receiving a stolen motor vehicle, larceny over $250, possession of burglarious tools, and malicious destruction of property.
During the investigation, the FBI monitored a GPS tracking device on Mr. Garcia’s Jeep for 60 days and identified a house as a likely drug manufacturing and storage place for the drug trafficking organization, the arresting papers said.
The drugs and drug-making equipment were found in the basement of the two-family home, where multiple families, including small children, live. Scales, heat sealers, and packaging materials were discovered. Investigators also found four handguns, three of which were loaded. One of the guns was found to be stolen from Georgia.
Investigators noticed extensive residual powder and airborne particles throughout the basement area and were concerned because children live at that address. They asked the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division to conduct a decontamination of the house.
Overdose Death Investigation
An investigation in this case started after the July 5 overdose death of an individual in Salem, Massachusetts, and an arrest the following day in relation to that death of an individual not named in the FBI criminal complaint but described as the person who sold the drugs to the victim.Investigators used the overdose victim’s phone and Snapchat account to order more pills. The person who delivered the pills was arrested, and investigators found a bag of 100 fentanyl-laced pills that he dropped while running from officers. A search of his car revealed methamphetamine pills, a handgun with six rounds of ammunition in the magazine, and a wallet containing Mr. Bejin’s driver’s license.
Over the past two years, the Department of Homeland Security has seized more fentanyl than in the previous five years combined, according to recent testimony from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He spoke with the Senate Committee on Appropriations as part of a request from the Biden administration, seeking an additional $1.3 billion to fight the flow of fentanyl into the United States. So far in 2023, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations have made more than 5,000 fentanyl-related arrests.
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl—an amount small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil—is considered a potentially deadly dose, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
