Lynn Man Arrested and Arraigned in Connection With Trafficking Fentanyl and Cocaine 

BOSTON — A Lynn man has been arrested and arraigned on fentanyl and cocaine trafficking charges after investigators seized more than 630 grams of fentanyl and 150 grams of crack cocaine from his apartment, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Following his arrest last Thursday morning, Ricardo Sanchez, age 38, was arraigned in Lynn District Court on the charges of Trafficking Fentanyl, 200 Grams or More (1 count), and Trafficking Cocaine, 100 Grams or More (one count). He was held on $250,000 after a bail hearing and is due back in court on May 20 for a probable cause hearing.

The charges are the result of an investigation by AG Healey’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force including Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team North (CINRET), State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the State Police Narcotics Section and with assistance from the Lynn Police Department’s Drug Task Force.

During the execution of a search warrant at Sanchez’s Lynn apartment, authorities seized approximately 634 grams of suspected fentanyl, 150 grams of suspected crack cocaine, $5,908 in cash, two digital scales, one drug ledger, several bottles of cutting agent and other drug paraphernalia.

AG Healey’s Office has prioritized combatting the opioid crisis and has been working closely with federal, state and local partners to fight illegal drug trafficking throughout New England. The AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force was created in 2016 using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Anti-Heroin Task Force and has since been strengthened with a nearly $3 million grant in 2018, a $2.6 million grant in 2019, and a $3.8 million grant in 2021, which have expanded ongoing multistate and cross-jurisdictional investigations. Since its launch, the Strike Force has seized more than 400 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl including tens of thousands of opioid pills and millions of dollars in cash and arrested more than 530 suspects.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Christina Ronan of AG Healey’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division.

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