Updated March 13
Law enforcement officials fear they are seeing “a very high increase” in cocaine-related arrests and seizures across the Island in the past year, including four arrests made in the past two weeks. Simultaneously, local drug-treatment counselors say they are seeing disturbing levels of people seeking treatment for cocaine use and addiction.
Oak Bluffs Chief of Police Jonathan Searle sees reason to believe an ongoing cocaine problem echoes a prevalence not seen since the 1980s and 1990s, and, in his personal experience there seems to be an increase that has occurred over the last few years on Martha’s Vineyard.
“We are seeing less of the heroin and fentanyl now, and more cocaine again,” said Searle. “There’s definitely a resurgence, and there is a risk, as we do see some [cocaine] is cut with fentanyl.”
The rise in cocaine arrests on the Island appears to be a part of a broader rise in arrests and cocaine usage across the Cape and Islands, with the Cape and Islands branch of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assisting the Island’s local departments in multiple arrests in the past year, and Nantucket reporting higher averages of cocaine in its wastewater than the rest of the country.
Searle said the rising number of arrests on-Island may also be the result of an increase of investigations into the activity. “The upper-level, dangerous dealers are our focus,” he said.
In the past year alone, multiple large-scale cocaine-trafficking attempts have been thwarted by local, state, and federal law enforcement efforts, with recent arrests and seizures. One dramatic case included a March 2025 federal sting operation, assisted by the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force and Oak Bluffs Police, which linked Island residents to Primeiro Comando da Capital — a transnational criminal organization that started in the prison system of São Paulo in Brazil, and is known for committing violent crimes like murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, and transnational drug trafficking.
Two other smaller street gangs, identified as the Tropa de Sete and Trem Bala, were also linked to the investigation. West Tisbury resident Joao Victor Da Silva Soares, 21, and Gustavo Augusto Mroczkoski, 29, were arrested for their trafficking of illegally assembled firearms, often referred to as “ghost-guns,” as well as their link to alleged cocaine trafficking on Island.
Mroczkoski was arrested by ICE in September 2023 in Oak Bluffs, and Soares was most recently held at the Worcester House of Corrections before he was released to the U.S. Marshalls in August of 2025, according to the house of corrections.
Police reports detailed how, as early as 2023, Mroczkoski coordinated with Soares on multiple occasions, often meeting him in Woods Hole to receive what police suspected was contraband. According to police, Mroczkoski would arrive empty-handed, enter Soares’ vehicle for several minutes, and then leave carrying a steel water bottle, which investigators believe concealed drugs or firearm components.
Also in August of 2025, Edgartown resident Travis J. Viera was arrested by the Oak Bluffs Police coming into Oak Bluffs on a Steamship Authority ferry. A search warrant of his body, motorcycle, and home resulted in the recovery of a brick-shaped package believed to be a kilogram of cocaine, estimated to be worth $100,000, one of the largest seizures in Island history, as well as $19,000 in cash.
According to police reports, a confidential source told police that there was another large quantity that had been missed by officers in their initial warrant execution. The confidential source said they failed to search an unregistered vehicle at Vieira’s Edgartown home’s driveway. Officers were informed that David M. Viera, Travis Viera’s father, towed the vehicle to his shop on 20th Street in Edgartown. According to reports, David told police he had initially towed the car because there were tools in it, and he himself had also found and used an “8-ball” (3.5 grams) of cocaine that he recovered from the vehicle; but David told police that that was all he found.
According to the report, through monitoring phone calls made by Travis to other members of his family, officers learned of a joint effort to recover a backpack from the car and secure it for future distribution. Officers surmised from the phone calls and because the car’s keys were attached to Travis’s motorcycle keys still located at the Oak Bluffs Police Station that David broke in and retrieved whatever was in the vehicle. According to police reports, investigators monitored jail calls made by Travis to his brother Nicholas C. Viera where they spoke about a neighbor aiding them in the recovery and identified her as his cousin, Jessica Donahue. The report states that based on phone calls between Travis and Nicholas, officers concluded that Donahue had the drugs that were in the car, but after a search was executed at her house, officers “found nothing of evidentiary value.” The reports state that the suspects said on the phone that whatever was in the car was worth about $20,000 to $30,000, which would be equivalent to 200 to 300 grams of cocaine.
In November of 2025, a Dukes County grand jury indicted David M. Viera, Nicholas C. Viera, and Jessica Donahue on counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws, acting as accessories after the fact and committing interference with a police officer. All three pleaded not guilty at a superior court hearing at the Edgartown Courthouse on Feb. 18, and are currently released on personal recognizance. Their next joint hearing is scheduled for April 13. Travis J. Viera faces drug trafficking charges and remains in custody.
The latest wave of arrests that occurred in the last couple of weeks uncovered amounts of cocaine that local officers say are up there with the most they have ever seen on the Island. Keslley Luiz Xavier, 32, and Mateus Souza De Oliveira, 33, both Edgartown residents, were stopped in Falmouth on March 5 for speeding.
A search conducted on the vehicle with a K9-unit revealed that the two were allegedly carrying 407.85 grams of cocaine, pills, and other narcotic paraphernalia, as they headed south on Route 28. Xavier and De Oliveira have both been charged with trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine, and are being held on $10,000 bail at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility.
Separate arrests that took place recently also netted 18 grams of alleged cocaine from an East Falmouth resident identified as Adrian Junior Rodrigues Dos Santos, 19, as he traveled to Martha’s Vineyard on a Steamship Authority ferry last week, and just over a week ago, police recovered 8.4 grams of alleged cocaine from an Edgartown man, identified as Douglas Da Silva, 24, who was caught with the drug in his black Dodge Charger as he was parked near Medeiros Cove on Barnes Road. Dos Santos was arrested on counts of trafficking a Class B substance and for having an active arrest warrant, and Da Silva was charged with possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.
In August 2022, working with the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force and the DEA Office, Oak Bluffs Police seized what Chief Searle called the largest cocaine bust in Island history at the time, recovering 850 grams of cocaine, nearly a kilogram, along with $8,500 in cash, a scale, and cutting materials from an Oak Bluffs business and residence. Shamar Hyatt, 33 at the time, was arrested on charges of trafficking 100 to 200 grams of cocaine, distribution of a Class B substance, and possession with intent to distribute.
A detective with the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force, speaking on condition of anonymity as ongoing investigations continue, said the drug dominates the local narcotics scene.
“I’d say a very high increase of cocaine,” said the task force investigator. “I feel like that’s all we are really seeing right now.”
While police note a rise in cocaine usage, admittance to the hospital for cocaine use has remained relatively low. According to information provided by Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, between 2023 and 2026, there were a total of 38 hospital admittances documented related to cocaine, with only eight cocaine-related visits in 2023, 13 in 2024, 13 in 2025, and four so far this year.
“Based on the data available to us, we are not seeing an increase in prevalence,” said the hospital’s statement. “This information reflects hospital encounters only and does not represent overall community prevalence, usage, or law enforcement activity.”
The MV Times filed a records request to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office to confirm an increase in cocaine-related prosecutions on the Island. While the office has not yet responded to the records request, they shared a statement with The Times.
“The Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office is committed to supporting effective drug enforcement strategies that protect public safety while addressing the complex factors that contribute to substance misuse. This includes working collaboratively with law enforcement, utilizing enhanced investigative techniques to support narcotics enforcement, and working with community partners to hold traffickers accountable and promote intervention efforts,” said Danielle Whitney, director of community programs and public relations at the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office.
The Times reached out to the Cape and Island DEA office, but it has not immediately responded to requests for comment.
The trend comes as our neighboring island, Nantucket, is seeing an apparent rise in cocaine use. Last year, Island officials reported high levels of cocaine in their wastewater. An eight-month wastewater survey conducted by Nantucket’s health department found that in October and December of 2025, cocaine levels in the water had risen to nearly three times the national average, according to the Nantucket Current’s Feb. 19 reporting.
According to the Current’s report, Nantucket found nearly 3,000 nanograms of cocaine per liter of water; the national average is approximately 1,000 nanograms. In contrast, drugs like fentanyl, meth, and nicotine levels were far below regional and national averages. The data are emerging after a year in which Nantucket Police conducted the largest cocaine bust in the island’s history, and with the Current reporting that “Island police have made numerous high-profile cocaine busts” recently.
Back on the Vineyard, Robert Cropper, director of recovery management services at the Red House, said he has noticed an “alarming” increase in people seeking help for cocaine use and addictions.
“I wasn’t seeing people reaching out about services for cocaine until about a year and a half ago. The interesting part is that it’s rare that someone is just doing cocaine. Usually it’s alcohol and cocaine,” said Cropper. “To me, it’s alarming. It’s also, I guess, being cut with fentanyl right now, which can be very dangerous, and often fatal.”
Cropper noted the Red House’s efforts are to help people “who are using it and insist on using it.”
“We have fentanyl test kits. Clearly, we don’t want them to use it at all, but if they are going to use it, we definitely want them to live,” he added.
Cropper said cocaine is a drug that is difficult to rehabilitate and detox medically.
“There’s no medical detox for cocaine and marijuana; some places will do it, but it’s more of a psychological addiction and not a physical addiction,” said Cropper. “But there’s been a lot of people coming to me for recovery services who say cocaine is a part of their daily lives now.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated for accuracy. Previously, it stated Travis Viera made calls to Jessica Donahue, but the report does not state that they spoke personally on the phone. She was discussed on calls between Viera and others.
Time to bring in the working dogs
My guess is that the price of coke has gone down because border patrol is focused on individuals bringing this stuff over the border, and letting the trucks roll through unchecked. Much better optics for the MAGA mindset to see a few “foreign” guys with tattoos busted for possession of a few ounces than an American truck driver, with a few tons, who are the one’s that bring in 90% of this stuff. But, I guess it’s good that the price of something is going down.
With all due respect, is there documentation/evidence of this being the case or is this just conjectgure? If it’s true, it would be very telling of the state of current affairs.
If I was in the Brazilian or other immigrant community I would make a serious effort to not allow these thugs to ruin the reputation of the honest hard working immigrant community. But anyone on the Vineyard should report anyone to the police that sells any dangerous drug. Bust these animals, put them in jail, let’s get rid of them. With fetanyl added, your own child could be the next funeral.
Don, the Village-Crier habit of turning every local story into a national political debate misses the point here. This article is about cocaine trafficking arrests on Martha’s Vineyard — not a debate about border optics or national politics.
The reporting describes serious cases: nearly a kilogram of cocaine worth roughly $100,000 seized in one investigation, and over 400 grams recovered during a recent traffic stop in Falmouth. Those are major trafficking quantities for a small Island community.
Police also linked one investigation to Primeiro Comando da Capital, a transnational criminal organization. That detail alone should make it clear these cases stem from targeted local investigations, not the kind of national political narrative you’re trying to attach to them.
Meanwhile, the hospital data cited in the article shows 38 cocaine-related admissions between 2023 and early 2026, which hardly supports sweeping claims about national policy.
The facts in the article are local, specific, and documented. Turning them into a national political speech may be loud, but it doesn’t make it accurate. Please!
Comments are closed.