Drug Bust Leads To 100 Arrests In New England

Nearly 1oo people were arrested this week during a massive drug bust in New England.

According to the Clarion Ledger, more than 700 federal, state and local authorities executed arrest warrants across New England today. At the end of the day, 52 people were charged with federal narcotics and money laundering crimes while another 51 people faced charges on the state level.

The drug bust centered on a drug trafficking ring that was bringing in cocaine and heroin from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Arrests were made in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.

Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security, said earlier this morning: “Homeland Security Investigations, along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, are executing numerous federal and state arrest and search warrants at locations in southeastern Connecticut.”

U.S. Attorney David Fein added: “We allege that the defendants arrested today were responsible for a very large percentage of the heroin and cocaine available for street sale in New London County.”

Luis Ariel Capellan Maldonado, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, is believed to be one of the key figures at the center of the drug ring. Officials believe that Maldonado brought “multi-kilograms” of heroin from the Dominican Republic and had it distributed across New England.

Reuters reports that the 100 people arrested today during the drug bust were taken to the U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut. Most are now facing a minimum sentence of five years in jail.