Nine people were arrested on drug, child sex abuse and other charges in a sweep involving gang investigators on Massachusetts' North Shore and on Nantucket Thursday, federal prosecutors said.
Four of the people were arrested on federal charges while the other five were arrested on state charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts. It wasn't immediately clear what linked the cases — the charges being brought against the men were varied.
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Three of the people arrested are from Everett and another four are from Chelsea, prosecutors said. FBI agents and Massachusetts State Police officers were seen at three Everett homes Thursday, and witnesses told NBC10 Boston they saw people being arrested; officials didn't share information about the investigation at the time beyond that they were conducting court-authorized activity.
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Prosecutors said four men were arrested on federal drug charges:
- Orlando Mancia, a/k/a Intruso, 22, of Everett, who is an alleged member of the 18th Street Gang;
- Tony Cartegena-Chacon, 46, of Chelsea;
- Hector Luis Santana Guzman, a/k/a “DJ Black,” 33, of Lawrence; and
- John Angel, 31, of Nantucket
These five men were arrested on state charges involving drugs, child rape and unlawful possession of ammunition, prosecutors said, though they didn't specify who is facing which charge:
- Elvin Martinez, 23, of Everett;
- Marlon Eduardo Varela, 20, of Everett;
- Fidel Alexis Orellana, 21, of Cheslea;
- Bryan Molina, 21, of Chelsea; and
- Luis Borja, 20, of Chelsea.
It wasn't immediately clear if any of the men had attorneys who could speak to the charges.
"Fentanyl continues to devastate lives across Massachusetts, and the defendants arrested yesterday allegedly pumped this poison into North Shore communities for a profit," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. "These charges represent the continued close working relationship across federal, state and local law enforcement to relentlessly investigate, identify and disrupt criminal organizations and our efforts to protect our communities from lethal narcotics."
The sweep involved the FBI, ATF, Massachusetts State Police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Suffolk and Middlesex district attorneys office and police in Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere.
People in Everett said the commotion — including at a building close to the Everett Police Department — on Thursday was unexpected.
