WOBURN, Mass. — Two men from Lynn and Melrose have been sentenced to several years in state prison in connection with a large-scale cocaine distribution operation that involved the shipment of drugs from Texas to Massachusetts, authorities said.
Jorge Delgado-Rivera, 45, of Melrose, and Jairo Salado-Ayala, 42, of Lynn, were sentenced in Middlesex Superior Court, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Everett Chief of Police Steven Mazzie said in a statement on Tuesday.
After a nine day trial, Jorge Delgado-Rivera was found guilty of two counts of trafficking cocaine over 200 grams, possession with intent to distribute, and eight counts of money laundering, Ryan said.
Judge Campbell sentenced Delgado-Rivera to 14 to 17 years in state prison on the two trafficking counts, to be followed by two years of probation on the money laundering counts. The conditions of the probation are to possess no firearms, dangerous weapons, or drugs.
Jairo Salado-Ayala was found guilty of one count of trafficking cocaine over 200 grams on a theory of possession with intent to distribute. Judge Campbell sentenced Salado-Ayala to not less than nor more than 12 years and one day in state prison.
In the fall of 2016, investigators assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts State Police and the Everett Police Department, launched an investigation into a large-scale drug operation centered in Everett and surrounding Middlesex County communities.
As part of the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office and State Police obtained court-authorized wiretaps on phones connected to shipments of cocaine coming into Middlesex County from out of state, Ryan said. Delgado-Rivera was also convicted of importing a series of prior shipments of cocaine from Texas into Massachusetts.
Based on information intercepted during the wiretap investigation, investigators successfully intercepted a package of cocaine at a UPS facility which was scheduled to be delivered to an alias used by the defendants, Ryan said. That package contained two kilograms of uncut cocaine packaged inside automobile parts and masked in apparent transmission fluid in an effort to evade drug detection efforts.
On the morning of Tuesday, June 6, 2017, Massachusetts State Police and local law enforcement simultaneously executed search warrants at five locations in the communities of Everett, Melrose, Chelsea, Lynn and Revere, suspected to be involved in the alleged drug distribution operation, Ryan said.
Police also seized approximately three pounds of marijuana and scales and packaging materials consistent with drug distribution, two firearms (a fully loaded .357 Magnum, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun), approximately 200 grams of a suspected cutting agent, and approximately $6,000 in cash. As part of this investigation, a total of more than $40,000 in drug proceeds were seized. In addition to weapons, contraband and cash, as part of the operation, police also seized five automobiles that were allegedly used for drug distribution and transportation.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials estimate that Delgado-Rivera and Salado-Ayala imported more than a dozen packages of suspected narcotics from September of 2016 through June 2017.
The shipment of drugs that was seized on Friday, June 2, 2017, contained approximately two kilograms of uncut cocaine. Once cut for distribution, the total value of the seized cocaine would be well over a hundred thousand dollars.
In June of 2017, Delgado-Rivera and Salado-Ayala were arrested in connection with a large scale cocaine distribution operation involving the shipment of drugs to Massachusetts from Texas. The investigation stemmed from a tip following a motor vehicle stop in South Texas. The interstate operation involved drugs imported from Mexico into Texas and then shipped to Massachusetts.
The case was investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit, the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit, the Everett Police Department.
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