May 21, 2006  Massachusetts
Suspect arrested with Half Kilogram of cocaine.

Eddie Rosario, 26, of Lawrence, was pulled over on Gates Street about 3 p.m., after Officer Eric Hyde saw him make a turn without using his turn signal, and noticed the car did not have a valid inspection sticker, Detective Sgt. James Trudel said.

Inside the car with Rosario, whom police believe is actually an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was an open Victoria's Secret shopping bag.

When police looked in that bag, the real secret turned out to be two large plastic bags of uncut cocaine, which together weighted about 500 grams, or half a kilogram, Trudel said.

He said the cocaine probably would have been sold for about $30,000.

Trudel said police were acting on a tip they got yesterday morning that Rosario would be bringing a large amount of cocaine to Sheldon and Gates streets, and after that initial tip detectives checked with others known to Rosario to get more specific information.

Police do not believe Rosario gave his real name, but were still working to positively identify him last night, Trudel said.

It is not exactly clear who the drugs were going to be delivered to, but Trudel said they were destined for Lowell.

"We think he probably lives in Lawrence but his main distribution network is in Lowell, and we think his partners are in Lowell," Trudel said. "We'll follow up on that later."

Rosario was carrying no cash and no weapons.

He had, however, wrapped himself in several layers of cellophane, which Trudel thinks he was likely using to stash the drugs against his body until shortly before he was pulled over.

"He probably had (the cocaine) strapped to his body in some fashion and when he got here he probably put it in the bag," Trudel said.

Trudel credited detectives Thomas Lafferty and Raymond Cormier for the work on the investigation.

The bust is the largest cocaine seizure in the city since last August, when city police and federal agents broke up a cocaine ring and seized about 3 kilograms from locations around the city.

The men charged in that incident are still awaiting trail.

Rosario is charged with trafficking cocaine (200 to 1,000 grams). He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted.

Police requested that Rosario be held without bail last night, but a bail commissioner had not yet ruled on that request.

Source: Robert Mills
Sun Staff