25 charged for drug trafficking conspiracy in Mass. and R.I.

Twenty-five people are being charged in connection to a drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Of those, 19 were arrested Thursday but the other six remain at large, according to a statement issued Friday by U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy.

Prosecutors described a drug trafficking organization, allegedly led by 33-year-old Yulial Cuello-Reynoso, of Leominster, that earned $20,000 a day distributing fentanyl, crack cocaine and powder cocaine by concealing them in car engines for distribution.

Levy called the group a "sophisticated and large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in plain sight" that preyed on those struggling with addiction.

"We allege that these defendants exploited addiction for personal profit and with full knowledge of that the drugs they were peddling could be lethal," Levy said in a statement.

More than two kilograms of fentanyl, 12 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, 300 grams of cocaine, six firearms and $400,000 was seized during the investigation, which started in March 2022, officials said.