Opioid Epidemic Impacts Southeastern Massachusetts

Last July, 10 individuals were arrested for running a drug trafficking operation that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

According to the charging documents, in March 2021, law enforcement began investigating a DTO led by Estarlin Ortiz-Alcantara operating in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Intercepted communications on numerous cellphones allegedly identified Mario Rafael Dominguez-Ortiz, Yeury Francisco Garcia-Rodriguez, Rafael Cesar Cabreja Jimenez and Alfredo Rodriguez as members of the DTO who conspired with Ortiz-Alcantara to regularly distribute multi-kilograms of fentanyl from a base of operations at a stash house in Fall River.

“Opioid abuse is at epidemic levels in New England,” said Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New England Field Division. “Illegal drug distribution ravages the very foundations of our families and communities here in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  Let these arrests serve as an example to those who distribute poisons like fentanyl. The DEA will aggressively pursue and hold you accountable.” 

The DEA issued an advisory on August 30 about an emerging trend of brightly-colored fentanyl pills being used to lure children and young people. This drug is often called “rainbow fentanyl”.

The drugs are deliberately made to look like candy and come in several forms, including pills, powder and blocks that resembles sidewalk chalk.

There have been no seizures of ‘rainbow fentanyl’ by either the Rehoboth or Seekonk Police departments.

 “Fentanyl is obviously, a deadly killer,” said Rehoboth Police Chief James Trombetta. “It’s going to sweep through communities. Thankfully, we don’t have a large opioid problem in Rehoboth.”

Trombetta noted that drugs which have been seized by the department are from people driving through town. They may have been speeding or involved in motor vehicle accidents.

Seekonk Police Chief Dean Isabella obtained a $798,156 grant for a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Site-Based Program which will last through September 2024.

The grant will fund the development of a regional co-responding program for eight towns in Bristol County, including Somerset, Swansea, Rehoboth, Mansfield, Dighton, Easton, and Fairhaven. The program will allow for better access to treatment for substance abuse disorders and for those dealing with mental health problems.

In 2022, Seekonk has had 20 overdoses, one of them fatal. 11 occurred at the motels on Route 6. The establishments are often the site of drug activity.

“Since 2020, about 50 percent of our recorded overdoses are from people who don’t live in Seekonk,” Isabella noted.

Isabella noted there was a 300 percent increase in fatal overdoses in Bristol County between 2010 and 2020. In 2010, 70 overdoses were reported. That number jumped to 232 in 2020.

There is a critical incident management system which allows local law enforcement to monitor overdose rates and to provide referrals for drug treatment programs.

“We are actively involved in that to create a response to these overdoses,” Isabella said, adding there will enhanced training for officers and the creation of awareness programs regarding the dangers of opioids.

Some of the information in this story can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/ten-arrested-southeastern-massachusetts-fentanyl-trafficking-conspiracy