By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
Providence Police said Tuesday that a mail delivery led to one of their most significant seizures of fentanyl.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Postal Service inspectors tracked a package from Mesa, Arizona, destined for a home on Belleview Ave. in Providence, said Providence Police Detective Captain Roger Aspinall.
When a woman took receipt of the package January 26, police found that it contained a kilogram of fentanyl. Aspinall said a search of the home yielded nine kilograms of fentanyl and three kilos of cocaine, worth an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million and a gun, capping a more than nine-month long investigation.
“It’s outstanding work, it’s remarkable what they did and I commend them for that,” said acting police Chief Oscar Perez of the members of the police Intelligence Bureau.
Arrested at the scene were Albertina Pena and Eusenio Nunez, but Captain Aspinall said the target of the operation was Juan Martinez, A.K.A. Angel Zapata, who was being held by police in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He said detectives were drawing up an arrest warrant for Martinez.
“This is one of the more sophisticated operations we’ve seen,” Aspinall said.
He said a police dog led officers to discover drugs that were hidden in a bureau equipped with a hydraulic lift, and a printed recipe with directions on how to “cut” the drugs for packaging.
