Massachusetts State Police, With Help, Bust Two Men At Ludlow Service Plaza For Cocaine Trafficking
Once again, we must give a HUGE shout-out to the Massachusetts State Police. In their never-ending efforts to keep drugs off the streets, the MSP(along with some other big-league help) intercepted a major drug shipment.
According to the MSP, this past Monday, August 29th, state police officers along with federal agents and members of a joint task force apprehended two Mexican nationals who were transporting 15 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into Massachusetts in a tractor-trailer.
The two were arrested after police witnessed a narcotics transaction at the Ludlow Service Plaza along the Mass Pike. The MSP reports that the two men, GERARDO MADRIGAL QUINTERO, 23, of Culiacan, Mexico, and JOEL ENRIQUE ARMENTA CASTRO, 30, of Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, were taken into custody by State Troopers, FBI-Boston agents, and members of a Drug Enforcement Strike Force.
Both men are being charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine and conspiracy to violate drug law. The current estimated street value of the cocaine that was seized is $500,000.
Over the course of an FBI investigation, information came to light concerning two drug suppliers who were on their way to the Bay State to deliver a load of cocaine from Mexico.
With the help of multiple law-enforcement agencies, investigators tracked the tractor-trailer, which was being driven by Quintero, to the Ludlow Service Plaza. After an exchange of narcotics between Quintero and Castro was witnessed, law enforcement personnel arrested Castro and placed him in custody.
A short time later, Mass State Troopers from the Westfield Barracks stopped the tractor-trailer truck on Route 91 South in Longmeadow, arrested Quintero, and took him into custody without incident.
The Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, Colonel Christopher Mason, had this to say in a media statement:
The cocaine that troopers, agents, and task force officers prevented from reaching the streets of Massachusetts through this investigation was worth more than half a million dollars to its suppliers in Mexico. Had it reached its destination it would have been cut up, packaged, and sold throughout our communities, and it would have caused violence, ruined families, and ended lives.
For more on the story, check out the MSP's website here. Great work, everyone!
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