Drug ring from Lawrence, MA, caught dealing coke from NH

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office says it has arrested six members of a drug ring from Lawrence, Massachusetts, who used the postal service to smuggle cocaine into the Granite State.

Delvin Castillo Portorreal, 42, Jose Ynoa Ynfante, 36, Maribi Garcia, 28, Elio Omar Cabrera Lopez, 27, Ernesto Valerio, 24, and Angel Miguel Marte Ruiz, 21, were indicted this week by a Hillsborough County grand jury on charges of conspiracy to possess a controlled drug with intent to resell.

According to John Formella, New Hampshire Attorney General, the six suspected operators were first noticed by investigators from the United States Postal Inspection Service (UPC).

“The joint efforts of New Hampshire law enforcement and the United States Postal Inspection Service underscore our shared commitment to fighting drug trafficking in our communities and dismantling the networks that threaten public safety,” said Formella.

Over the past two years, Ynfante, Garcia, Lopez, Valerio and Ruiz regularly picked up packages from Puerto Rico at a post office in Nashua. According to Formella, these packages contained several kilos of cocaine.

The drugs were reportedly brought from Portorreal to a Lawrence associate. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, Lawrence is the hub of drug trafficking in New Hampshire and is responsible for the majority of the fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine that comes into the Granite State.

The alleged members of the post-cocaine gang were not the only dealers caught this week. Joel Soto Sanchez and Yunior Elliandri Perez Herrera were both charged for their roles in allegedly trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and some methamphetamine in Concord and Tilton.

New Hampshire U.S. Attorney Jane Young and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Spera met with NHJournal earlier this year to discuss the flow of drugs into New Hampshire. According to Young and Spera, the Lawrence gangs get their drugs from Mexican cartels.

“These organizations [Lawrence gangs] have a connection to Mexican cartels and therefore can obtain large quantities, distribution-level quantities and kilogram quantities of the drugs,” Spera said. “They are the organizations. They are the drug distribution networks that have direct connections to the Mexican cartels.”

Republican Kelly Ayotte came under fire early in her campaign for governor when she criticized the Massachusetts cities of Lawrence and Lowell for their role in smuggling deadly drugs into New Hampshire.

“It’s killing our citizens,” Ayotte said.

Lawrence City Council President Marc Laplante invited Ayotte to watch the city's drug enforcement team at work, while Lowell City Manager Tom Golden demanded an apology.

Drugs and crime have emerged as a major issue in the gubernatorial race. Ayotte attacked former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig over the city's poor record on opioid overdoses and street crime. Craig's fellow Democrats are unlikely to help.

Last week, Democrats on a New Hampshire House of Representatives investigative committee blocked Republicans from proposing a new bill that would impose mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl dealers.