UPDATED: Four Haverhill Residents Arraigned on Fentanyl Trafficking Charges

File photograph. (Image licensed by Ingram Image.)

Four Haverhill residents were arraigned on fentanyl trafficking charges Monday, three days after police seized 3.7 kilograms of the drug from their Winter Street home.

Wilman Diaz, Arismendy Santana, Yesenia Colon and Milagro Santana, all of 212 Winter St., appeared in Haverhill District Court sitting in Newburyport to face the drug charges and answer to other offenses.

The drug sweep was a joint effort by Haverhill Police, State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

“This deadly drug is destroying lives and plaguing our communities, so we must be doing all that we can to hold traffickers responsible,” Police Chief Alan DeNaro said Monday. “As a result of this joint operation, we have taken nearly four kilograms of fentanyl off our streets. We will continue to collaborate with Attorney General Maura Healey to target those who endanger the safety and well-being of our residents.”

Arrested Friday night by Officer Bryan Bailey, the foursome also all face one count each of unlawful possession of ammunition and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act. Colon must also answer to one count of reckless endangerment of a child.

In court Monday, Diaz, 26, and Santana, 27, were charged with additional counts of trafficking relating to six prior alleged fentanyl sales that occurred between December and March 2018.

“We need to tackle this epidemic on all fronts, including working with our partners in law enforcement to disrupt these dangerous drug trafficking networks,” Healey said. “This case is another example of our expansion of fentanyl trafficking enforcement statewide and collaborative efforts in successfully removing these lethal drugs from our communities.”

Held on bail that varies from $20,000 to $250,000, the defendants next appear in court April 18 for probable cause hearings.