25 Charged In Connection With Massachusetts Heroin Ring

Authorities have charged 25 people in connection with a heroin trafficking ring in southeastern Massachusetts.

Arrests were made Thursday in Berkley, Fall River, Marshfield, New Bedford, Lawrence, Taunton and Providence, Rhode Island.

The indictment follows four other recent federal indictments charging 17 people in connection with a heroin distribution network in Taunton.

The investigation is part of the federal response to the heroin epidemic in Massachusetts. Taunton in particular has seen a steep increase in heroin overdose deaths since 2013.