A Massachusetts father missed the birth of his daughter after he was arrested in connection with leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization that resulted in an overdose death in Salem and possibly targeted teenagers.
Emilio Garcia, also known as “Six,” 27, of Lynn, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 18 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In February, Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, one count of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In July 2023, an investigation into an overdose death in Salem led investigators to the large-scale drug trafficking organization led by Garcia, with assistance from at least four other individuals. On Nov. 1, 2023, searches at four locations in Lynn frequented by Garcia resulted in what is believed to be one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts, officials said.
In total, an estimated eight million individual doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder was seized. The street value is believed to be upwards of $8 million. The seizure also included counterfeit Adderall pills, counterfeit Percocet pills and nine kilograms (20 pounds) of pink heart shaped fentanyl-laced pills pressed to look like the Valentine’s Day “Sweethearts” candies, also known as “conversation hearts.”
“The nature of this design would facilitate the marketing of these controlled substances to teenagers, and allow an individual to more readily and easily possess them in a controlled environment, such as a school, because they would be mistaken for simple candies,” court documents state…