East Boston's streets became the stage for a keen-eyed drug bust yesterday afternoon, when officers from District A-7's Drug Control Unit arrested two individuals with a considerable stash of illicit substances. According to the Boston Police Department, the scene unfolded around 5:03 p.m. near 100 Brandywine Drive, where police, recognizing a vehicle from a previous stop linked to drug offenses, set up surveillance and observed a suspected drug deal, with the suspects engaging in a brief exchange beside a parked van.
As the evening's traffic crescendoed, the suspected vehicle slipped from the officers' view, prompting a call for additional forces to stop the van in motion. It was at Bennington Street and Swift Street where the plot thickened—police recovered nine bags of fentanyl from within the van. The driver, identified as Danny Hernandez, 35, of Lowell, was issued a court summons on charges of trafficking crack cocaine, despite the heavy traffic that nearly allowed him to escape.
Returning to the beat at the intersection of Bennington Street and Saratoga Street around 5:40 PM, officers once again spotted the familiar suspect vehicle, now involved in another possible illicit transaction. Two unknown individuals entered the back seat and departed moments later, with officers in pursuit. The officers quickly recovered a bag of fentanyl from the pair, resulting in possession charges for Class A and B substances.
The saga's final act unfolded near Suffolk Downs' entrance, where the remaining suspects in the vehicle faced the law. As handcuffs clicked into place, a passenger—later identified as Anny Perdomo-Santana, 34, of Dorchester—attempted to discard a bag out the window. The effort proved futile as officers retrieved it, uncovering a trove of 31 bags of fentanyl, cocaine, 25 bags of crack, and approximately $7,727 in cash—evidence of a trade as old as time.
Hernandez and Perdomo-Santana now face numerous charges, including Trafficking of Class A and B and Distribution of Class A and B drugs; Hernandez with the added weight of a second subsequent offense of Possession with Intent to Distribute Class A, both await their day in court at East Boston District Court.
