Special to the Independent
A Chelsea man is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing after local and federal law enforcement officers seized over 1,000 grams of drugs and over $12,000 in U.S. currency from his residence on Wednesday, May 19, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Eric Serrano, 45, of Chelsea was charged with trafficking fentanyl over 200 grams, trafficking cocaine over 36 grams, and providing a false name to law enforcement.
Judge Jane Prince ordered Serrano held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing this week.
At about 9 a.m. on March 19, as a result of an investigation led by the Everett Police Department along with members of the Chelsea, Revere, Salem Police departments, DEA Task Force and Massachusetts State Police, investigators executed search warrants for Serrano, his vehicle, and his Spencer Avenue residence.
Officers seized 1138 grams of fentanyl, 63 grams of cocaine and $12,012 in cash, according to the district attorney’s office.
Officers located a second male, later identified as Felix Agromonte, 23, of Lawrence inside the residence.
A CJIS query revealed Agromonte had four outstanding warrants from various agencies for charges related to shoplifting, resisting arrest, assault and battery on a police officer, larceny over $1200, conspiracy to violate drug laws, possession with intent to distribute a Class A substance, and possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance.
“This is another example of excellent teamwork between agencies,” stated Everett Police Chief Paul Strong. “We have worked together with these agencies for several years and the dedication and hard work that these agencies do to rid communities of these dangerous drugs is incredible.”
Chelsea Police Chief Keith Houghton praised the interdepartmental work and said his department will work tirelessly for its residents to keep drug dealers and drugs off the streets.
Serrano has been convicted of drug distribution related offenses back in 1997 and 2010, according to the DA’s office
According to the website AddictionResource.net, the street cost per gram of fentanyl runs between $150 and $200, making the street value of 1138 grams as high as $227,600.
“This is a large amount of drugs that could do a large amount of damage in our neighborhoods,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. “We’re seeing some positive trends in opioid-related overdose deaths across the state in recent years and part of the reason is operations like this that take deadly drugs like fentanyl off the streets.”