The print edition of this story can be read here.
Multiple arrests were made recently on cocaine charges. Three of those arrests happened this week.
The arrested individuals include three men from Edgartown and one man from East Falmouth, according to police. Besides a pair who were arrested together in Falmouth, Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle said none of these cases were connected to each other.
The largest seizure of cocaine came from Keslley Luiz Xavier, 32, and Mateus Souza de Oliveira, 33, both of Edgartown, who were arrested on Thursday, March 5, in Falmouth on counts of trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine and conspiracy to violate drug law. The two were arraigned on Friday, March 6 in Falmouth District Court and are being held in the Barnstable County Correctional Complex with bail set at $10,000. According to a Falmouth Police press release, the two were allegedly in possession of around 407.85 grams of cocaine, pills, and “various paraphernalia related to narcotics activity.”
The Falmouth department stated it assisted Oak Bluffs Police and U.S. Drug Force Administration (DEA) Cape Cod Task Force with a search warrant related to “suspected drug trafficking” that stemmed from an investigation launched by the Vineyard department.
Searle told The Times that the arrests of Xavier and de Oliveira were the culmination of a two-month, “long and complex” investigation led by a detective in his department.
“I’m grateful for the cooperation and assistance from our law enforcement partners involved,” he said.
The release states that task force members had tracked the “target vehicle” onto Route 28 in Falmouth headed south at around 9:04 pm on Thursday. A Falmouth officer “located the vehicle and conducted a motor vehicle stop after observing it traveling over 90 mph.” After the driver and passenger were brought to the Falmouth Police Department, a K9 unit from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office located the cocaine and other items.
Over 400 grams of cocaine has a “street value” of more than $40,000, according to Oak Bluffs Police.
“Because of this arrest, the drugs did not make it over to Martha’s Vineyard!” a post from the department reads.
Meanwhile, another arrest on Tuesday came after Steamship Authority security called law enforcement “regarding a man who reportedly dropped a bag that they believed contained drugs on a ferry,” an Oak Bluffs Police press release reads. Adrian Junior Rodrigues Dos Santos of East Falmouth, 19, was arrested on counts of trafficking a Class B substance and for an active arrest warrant out of Falmouth. The release stated Oak Bluffs and Tisbury Police responded to the call and after examining the bag, found around 18 grams of “suspected cocaine” that was “individually packaged for distribution.”
He was arraigned on Wednesday, March 4, in Edgartown District Court where he pleaded not guilty. He is being held at Dukes County Jail.
In another case just over a week ago, an Oak Bluffs officer assigned to the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force patrolling around Medeiros Cove off Barnes Road in Oak Bluffs “observed a black Dodge Charger parked in the area and decided to check on the occupants,” the release from the department states. A man and a woman were in the vehicle and the officer “observed what he believed was drug paraphernalia in plain view.” An investigation and subsequent search of the vehicle led to the seizure of around 8.4 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine, which was “individually packaged which is consistent with illegal drug distribution,” the release states. This led to the arrest of the car owner, Douglas Da Silva of Edgartown, 24, on a count of possessing a Class B substance with an intent to distribute.
Da Silva was arraigned on Feb. 26 in Edgartown District Court.
Oak Bluffs Police stated “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
Proud to be from OB! Good job OB PD!
The immigration status of all involved ???
Well, they have Hispanic sounding names, and most Hispanic people are Christians. So, I’m gonna go with they are Christians. And to Mr. Budris– is immigration status more important than religious affiliation ? I know that if one of them was named “Mohammed” , some people here would be making snide remarks about their religious beliefs.
Police investigated for two months before catching them. Substantial evidence. Probably undocumented aliens. Then last sentence “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
That phrase is there because it is enshrined in the US Constitution, Roy, and there for your benefit as well.
Presumed innocent is a phrase for the judiciary. It is not for normal citizens. We as citizens are under no obligation to presume innocence of an individual arrested. This is a concept for the courts and for juries. We would be fools to believe all are innocent before found guilty since most people who are arrested are indeed later found guilty by a judiciary.
Just wondering if the reporter asked about the immigration status of those arrested. It seems a rather important detail.
A quick check of the town street listing will tell you their nationality….
Just FYI
Why is it important?
Do we list the immigration status of the buyers?
The obvious omission should serve as your answer.
why is their immigration status important ? It’s not important to me. But I hope that if it turns out all these people are U.S citizens you will have an epiphany and realize that all crime is not committed by “illegals”
I guess Trump’s excellent Border Wall was totally effective not only keeping out persons but the tide of drugs coming across the border.
So glad he always tells the truth.
There were enough drugs welcomed into this country during the Biden administration to last a few more years. Time to get off the island and see what the real world is thinking.
James, this story describes a two-month investigation by Oak Bluffs police and the DEA that ended with a traffic stop in Falmouth. Yet somehow you turned it into a border wall debate. That’s an impressive distance to travel without leaving the comment section.
Careful — that’s usually someone else’s territory around here. He normally handles the role of village crier for unrelated topics.
Sadly, the futures of four promising future doctors, lawyers and engineers have all thrown away their American dream… such a tragedy.
See how simple it is. We’ve done the work. We don’t need a big reality tv drama with ICE! Most are not guilty when ICE takes them but the ones who are, have already been in our court system, no need for the big show.
The “war om drugs”, which is actually only a war on some drugs as your daily dose of advertising will attest can best be defined as a rousing victory for drugs. This “war” has been waged my entire life and I have yet to see anything other than victory for drugs. When are we going to stop throwing good money after bad and admit defeat?