Taunton, Westport, Swansea, Somerset, Tiverton, New Bedford residents also charged

PROVIDENCE — Providence police say they broke up a drug-trafficking ring that was funneling fentanyl and bricks of heroin from Providence into southeastern Massachusetts.

Thirty-six people are charged in what Providence police dubbed “Operation Stop the Flow.” The arrests include six Rhode Islanders accused of running the drug operation, as well as 30 alleged “buyers” who were bringing the drugs back to Fall River and surrounding areas — and selling at three times the price.

Police said they also seized more than a kilo of heroin and fentanyl, along with $65,000 cash, and a handgun.

Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Commissioner Steven M. Pare and Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr announced the drug sting at a press conference Thursday morning, where they were joined by law enforcement from Massachusetts who were also involved in the investigation.

The ring was profitable for the dealers, who could take a kilo of heroin, worth about $65,000, or fentanyl, worth about $60,000, break it up and package it for resale on the street for about $130,000, said Clements. With fentanyl’s powerful high, using it to lace heroin raises the profit margin closer to six to one, the police said.

Providence-->Fall River heroin bust

The ring was then profitable for the out-of-state buyers, who came into Rhode Island, bought bricks of heroin at $120 apiece, and then sold them in the Fall River area for $360, according to detectives. A “brick” is 50 glassine bags of heroin.

“Because the game is so lucrative, drug dealers will keep stepping up,” Clements said. And, he added, so will police.

“The Providence Police Department and law enforcement in New England will not stop. We will be aggressive. We will proactively target drug dealers, the people poisoning our communities,” Clements said.

Assistant Atty. Gen. Stacey Veroni called it a “tremendous investigation” into an epidemic that is claiming lives in the opioid crisis. Rhode Island is fifth in the nation, per capita, on opioid overdoses, and 57 percent of deaths last year involved fentanyl, she said.

Police said that most of the 30 buyers were men and women from southeastern New England — Fall River, New Bedford, Swansea, Taunton, Westport, and Tiverton.

The Providence police intelligence detectives, under Sgt. Nicholas Ludovici, spent 10 months on the investigation, said Clements. Their work led to wiretaps in the early spring that collected calls between the buyers and sellers of bricks of heroin, according to an affidavit by Detective John Black filed at District Court.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration funded the investigation, and the FBI allowed Providence detectives to use their wiretap equipment and an office to listen to the calls -- 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The investigation included East Providence Police, Massachusetts State Police, the Bristol County (Mass.) District Attorney’s Office, the Fall River Police, and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.

The three main people who were allegedly running the drug operation, all from Rhode Island, were arrested and arraigned on multiple drug charges on Friday.

Johan Jimenez, 26, of 11 Stanton St., Providence, who police allege was the head of the drug trafficking ring, Mario Hernandez, 28, of 284 Webster Ave., Cranston, accused of taking calls from drug buyers, and Yosiel Rondon-Vargas, 19, of 12 Boswell Ave., Apt. 3, Providence, who is accused of being the “runner,” are all being held without bail.

Jimenez is also facing gun charges — Maj. David Lapatin said Jimenez had a handgun within reach when detectives arrested him.

Police also arrested Jimenez’s girlfriend, Yohanna C. Sanchez, 35, while raiding their home, charging her with gun and drug crimes.

A married couple accused of bagging heroin at their home at 314 Willard Ave. in Providence were also arrested. Edwin V. Perez, 42, and Ana C. Perez, 29, are both being held on multiple drug dealing charges.

On Wednesday, 18 men and women from Rhode Island and Massachusetts were arraigned in District Court on conspiracy charges connected to the heroin drug ring, after police allege they were all caught on the wiretaps. Their stories were all similar — they called to arrange drug pickups, met the runners somewhere in Providence and Pawtucket, and then headed back to Massachusetts, according to the affidavit.

As police held the news conference, one wanted man turned himself in on a warrant. Five more are still being sought by police.

Below is a list of those from Massachusetts facing charges, including 21 from Fall River:

NEW BEDFORD

Carl Cote, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

TIVERTON

Elizabeth Carvalho, 36, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

FALL RIVER

Marco F. Goncalves, 41, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Rachal L. St. Marie, 28, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Joseph M. Hayes, 42, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Kristopher L. Vaillancourt, 32, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Keri A. Andrade, 30, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Neal J. Stewart, 55, 2X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Dustin E. Reinhold, 41, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Erica N. Bettencourt, 31, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Maria J. Dosanjos, 22, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Raymond Oliveira, 55, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Vincent J. Carr, 48, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Walter R. Kauffman, 47, 2X conspiracy to PWID heroin

James J. Maucione, 28, 2X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Justin A. Dupre, 36, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Jason R. Gordon, 41, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Margaret E. Batcheller, 34, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Angela M. Goss-Andreozzi, 33, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Luis M. Medeiros, 46, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Alan M. Strickland, 44, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Michael P. Poitras, 50, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Cheryl A. Kuriothowski, 47, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

WESTPORT

Matthew D. Teasdale, 30, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Keith N. Vieira, 48, 2X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Daniel S. Christos, 34, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

SOMERSET

Matthew L. Leonardo, 31, 3X conspiracy to PWID heroin

TAUNTON

Alyson M. Cathcart, 31, 2X conspiracy to PWID heroin

SWANSEA

Krystal L. Medeiros, 32, 1X conspiracy to PWID heroin

Brea M. Goyette, 25, 3X soliciting another to commit a crime