HAVERHILL, Massachusetts — Police are taking the fight against fentanyl and heroin to the edge of the highway, where they arrested seven people in two days.
Investigators said the people charged came from Maine and New Hampshire to buy drugs, including fentanyl, which has been blamed for fatal overdoses in the region.
This is the latest in a series of crackdowns on drug sales just off Interstate 495. Police said local drug dealers and out-of-state buyers meet in parking lots near the highway because it is convenient for them.
But, police said, observers are catching on.
Police Detective Lt. Robert Pistone said Haverhill police are receiving more tips and complaints than ever from businesses and concerned citizens who observe suspicious activity in parking lots near the highway exits.
“We have out-of-state people coming to this area to meet dealers from Lawrence and are using the convenience of our exits to do business,” Pistone said. “The demand right now for heroin and fentanyl is super high — that, along with the supply, due to our proximity to Lawrence.”
Police charged four out-of-state people Tuesday with trafficking fentanyl after they parked at the McDonald’s restaurant on River Street and then drove across the street to the Walgreen’s before returning to the McDonald’s where they picked up a man, according to a police report.
Police said they followed the vehicle onto I-495 and stopped it. A search of the vehicle turned up drugs, including some that were hidden in an empty can of tire sealant, police said.
Police charged the following people with trafficking fentanyl and conspiracy to violate drug laws: James Young-Dumont, 32, and Melanie York, 42, both of Wilton, Maine; Brent Tirrell, 35, of Livermore, Maine; and Wendy Moody, 36, Livermore Falls, Maine.
Young-Dumont also was charged with possession of a Class A drug. Police said Young-Dumont had an outstanding warrant out of Methuen for possession of a Class A drug.
Tirrell also was charged with unlicensed possession of ammunition.
The four people were arraigned Wednesday in Haverhill District Court, where Judge Patricia Dowling set bail on each at $6,500 and continued their cases to Sept. 7.
Police also arrested three other out-of-state people Wednesday after stopping their vehicle on I-495 north shortly after 3:30 p.m.
Police charged Trevor Mackenzie, 25, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, marked lanes violation, possession of a Class E drug, being present where heroin is kept and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
They charged Kyle Hamel, 26, of Lebanon, Maine, with possession of a Class B drug, conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Police also charged Katy Foster, 27,155 of Wakefield, New Hampshire, with possession of a Class A drug and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
According to court officials, Mackenzie, Hamel and Foster all showed up on Thursday morning in Haverhill District Court for their arraignments, but all three left the courthouse with no warning. The court subsequently issued warrants for their arrest, officials said.
‘Big increase in arrests’ coming
Pistone said Haverhill police have been focusing their resources on trying to help residents who are addicted get into recovery programs while addressing quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods where drug dealing happens.
“When we do have the time and resources, we conduct surveillance near the highways, where it’s not hard to see what’s going on,” he said. “That surveillance almost always ends up in arrests.”
Pistone said buyers from New Hampshire and Maine are willing to make long-distance trips to Haverhill and meet up with drug dealers from Lawrence who sell them “fingers” of fentanyl for $300, which they in turn can sell up north for $800.
Pistone said police continue to work with outside law enforcement agencies to get more resources to focus on drug activity near Haverhill’s highway exits.
“We are dealing with a major epidemic, and there’s just too much of it going on,” Pistone said. “We want to make it known to dealers in Lawrence and customers from out of state that they are not welcome. They will see a big increase in arrests near our highway exits.”
According to a police report on file in Haverhill District Court, members of the Haverhill Police Narcotics Unit were doing surveillance of the Westgate Plaza area just before noon Tuesday, watching for people from New Hampshire and Maine who meet up near the highway with Merrimack Valley drug dealers to make a buy.
Police observed a 2013 Dodge Dart with a Maine registration parked at the McDonald’s restaurant on River Street.
Police said they checked the vehicle’s registration, which showed it came from Livermore Falls, Maine — about a 2½ hour drive from Haverhill.
“It is common for out-of-state drug purchasers to travel a long distance and pick up large quantities of drugs due to the lower price,” Pistone said.
The police report said the Dart went across the street to the Walgreen’s, where the driver and a female passenger entered the store, then came out after about 10 minutes without any goods.
Police said the vehicle then returned to the McDonald’s and picked up a male passenger.
Car followed onto highway
Police said they followed the vehicle onto I-495 north and noticed a male in the rear seat looking down and moving around, which police said is consistent with drug use or concealing drugs.
Police stopped the vehicle just before Exit 52, the Main Street exit. When police approached the vehicle, a man in the back seat was screwing the bottom onto what appeared to be a can of tire sealer, police said.
Police opened the can and found 2½ “fingers” of a drug believed to be heroin, along with several needles, according to a police report.
Police said the man, who they identified as Young-Dumont, was preparing to use the drugs because the bag was open and there was a spoon on the back seat.
The driver, Tirrell, along with his front-seat passenger, Moody, and rear-seat passenger, York, were ordered out of the vehicle.
Police searched the vehicle and said they seized two scales, a package of Ziploc bags and sandwich bags, and a bag of .22-caliber ammunition, which Tirrell said he left in the vehicle after target practice. He did not have a license to possess ammunition in Massachusetts, police said.
Police seized $191 in cash from Tirrell.
Police searched the two women and found what officers said appeared to be heroin hidden in Moody’s shorts.
Police said some of the substances tested positive for fentanyl, a dangerous drug dealers add to heroin and marijuana to make them stronger.
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