Guilty Verdict In Heroin Trafficking Case

WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that Jorge Polanco, 36, of Lawrence, was found guilty today on charges of trafficking in heroin over 19 grams and violating the drug law near a school/park. Middlesex Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman sentenced Polanco to 3 ½ years in state prison for violating the drug law and 2 years in the House of Correction to be served on and after the state prison sentence on the trafficking charge.

“This case is an example of how drug trafficking effects an entire community,” said District Attorney Ryan. “The heroin being sold was being handed off near a school and at public places including convenience stores. As we deal with an alarming increase in overdose deaths in Middlesex County, we continue to take a multi-pronged approach to the opiate epidemic, prosecuting those who profit from drug sales such as this defendant, and collaborating with our partners on treatment, prevention, and educational programs.”

Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa added, “This conviction represents another step on the road toward getting our opiate problem under control. Taking this defendant off the streets of this community is a win for the residents of Billerica and I thank District Attorney Ryan and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their assistance.”

Polanco was arrested on May 7, 2013 following a surveillance operation by detectives with the Billerica Police Department and agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Law enforcement officers observed that Polanco was the organizer or leader of others who served as “runners” for him and who engaged in multiple sales of heroin which took place outside a home on Rogers Street in Billerica and outside 7-11 and Cumberland Farms convenience stores in Billerica. The Rogers Street residence is located 281 feet from a public elementary school. After one such transaction, law enforcement recovered 33 separately-wrapped bags of heroin. When law enforcement approached Polanco to arrest him on May 7, he fled on foot, discarding two large bags containing heroin. Polanco was caught and was found to have over $1,000 in cash on his person. The heroin recovered from all transactions on May 7 was determined to have a total net weight of approximately 29 grams.

The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant District Attorney Daniel Harren.