New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, members of a multi-agency gang task force arrested two brothers for narcotics trafficking in Lawrence after task force members recovered a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine and an additional amount of fentanyl. The arrests were made by Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit Troopers, FBI Agents, and a federal Homeland Security Investigations Agent who serve on the North Shore Gang Task Force (NSGTF).
Shortly after 1 p.m., an NSGTF member doing anti-gang and narcotics enforcement observed a suspected drug transaction being conducted inside a minivan being operated on Nesmith Street and surrounding streets in the city’s Tower Hill neighborhood. Other task force members responded to the area to assist.
A task force officer observed the suspected customer, later identified as WAGNER VITTINI-GONZALEZ, 27, of Lawrence, exit the van on Hobson Street and walk to Nesmith Street while the van drove away. When approached, VITTINI-GONZALEZ ran and was apprehended in a backyard by Agents and Troopers after a brief foot chase. During the pursuit, the suspect threw down a large bag he was carrying and shed his hooded jacket in an attempt to evade capture.
Troopers and Agents located he discarded bag, which contained a cardboard box. Inside the box was a large protein powder bottle, and inside the bottle were two large clear plastic bags containing a white crystalized powder that was field tested and determined to be approximately 702 grams of methamphetamine. Also located in the bottle was a smaller clear plastic bag containing a powder that was field tested and determined to be approximately 27 grams of fentanyl.
Meanwhile, the description of the minivan in which the deal was conducted, a rented black Dodge Caravan with Florida registration, was broadcast to other NSGTF units in the area. A task force member located the Caravan on Lowell Street in Methuen, near an on-ramp to Route 93 southbound, and conducted a stop. A Trooper and Agent recovered $1,000 in United States currency from inside the minivan, whose operator was identified as GERAL VITTINI-LORENZO, 28, of Boston, the brother of WAGNER VITTINI-GONZALEZ.
Following subsequent investigation, including interviews of both men, Troopers and Agents charged each of them with trafficking a Class B narcotic (methamphetamine) and trafficking a Class A narcotic (fentanyl). Task force members transported the men to the Lawrence Police station, where the arrests were processed and the evidence documented.
The included photo depicts the seized methamphetamine (left and right bags) and fentanyl (center).
