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Estimated $20,000 Worth Of Heroin Seized

Posted on: March 27, 2015 - 12:54pm

WOBURN - Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that DarvinEstrada, 26, of Waltham, has been indicted on charges of trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate the drug laws and is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday, April 2, in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

"This incident is another example of the mail service being used to transport heroin and other controlled substances,” said District Attorney Ryan. "This alleged behavior illustrates the way in which the movement of large quantities of controlled substances has become a business and how those involved are increasingly using a ‘hands off’ economical means of transport. The investigation into this choice for drug trafficking reflects how we must come at the overdose problem from many directions, including prosecuting those who are profiting, treating those who are addicted, and collaborating on education and prevention programs.”

On December 11, 2014, Estrada was arrested by Massachusetts State Police after he picked up a package that had been delivered to a local convenience store located at 220 River Street in Waltham. The package was shipped from Guatemala and intercepted in Miami by Customs and Border Protection of the Homeland Security Department.

Unbeknown to Estrada, the package was then delivered to its final destination in Waltham by undercover agents. Estrada was arrested after taking possession of the package and leaving the store. The package contained numerous pills, each containing a quantity of heroin. The total weight of the pills was well over 200 grams and has an estimated street value of more than $20,000. Trafficking in this quantity of heroin carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a minimum mandatory sentence of 12 years imprisonment.

This investigation has been conducted by members of the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and Massachusetts State Police.

The charges are allegations and the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney William R. Freeman of the Special Investigations Unit in the Office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.