A hotel employee’s tip sent Tewksbury police to a room on Andover Street last Wednesday, where officers say they found roughly 25.4 grams of suspected fentanyl and 17.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine. Two people staying in the room were arrested and now face trafficking charges in Lowell District Court.
According to News Link Live, police responded after the employee reported suspected drugs in a room on Sept. 23. Officers identified the two occupants as Heather Chong, 42, of Orlando, Florida, and Ryan McCarthy, 35, of Billerica, per Chief Ryan Columbus.
What Police Say They Found
Officers examined substances believed to be fentanyl and crack cocaine, per the chief. The report notes police seized approximately 25.4 grams of suspected fentanyl and about 17.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine from the room.
Chong was arrested and charged with trafficking in 10 grams or more of fentanyl and possession of a Class B drug, crack cocaine, the outlet reports. McCarthy faces the same trafficking charge along with possession of a Class A drug and possession of a Class B drug, crack cocaine. Both were arraigned in Lowell District Court, per the same account.
A Statewide Backdrop
The Tewksbury case comes as Massachusetts continues to see a decline in opioid-related deaths. State data reviewed by mass.gov shows opioid-related overdose deaths in 2025 are estimated to be 27 percent lower than in 2024, continuing what the state describes as a sustained downward trend. A separate 2024 opioid-involved overdose report found that 80 percent of drug-overdose deaths in the state that year involved an opioid…