Early Tuesday morning, a coordinated law enforcement effort in Springfield led to the substantial seizure of illegal firearms, heroin, and cash. Members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit teamed up with several state and local agencies including Massachusetts State Police and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department to execute search warrants linked to an investigation into suspected heroin and fentanyl distribution originating from a Plainfield Street apartment, as reported by the Springfield Police Department.
The multifaceted operation saw investigators seize over $92,000 in cash, two illegal firearms - one a "ghost gun" and another with a Glock switch - along with 11,000 bags of heroin and five large-capacity magazines, 21-year-old Jeremy Collazo was the primary focus of the investigation and along with 22-year-old Jasmine Soto-Sepulveda, was detained during a search that yielded 700 bags of heroin, a ghost gun, and over $2,500 in cash from their residence, this find occurred simultaneous to an operation targeting a co-conspirator, Wilfredo Arvelo-Ruiz, where close to $90,000 and a substantial quantity of heroin was uncovered elsewhere.
Collazo faces a raft of charges including possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of a large capacity firearm during the commission of a felony, possession with intent to distribute a Class A drug, and conspiracy to violate drug law. Soto-Sepulveda faces similar charges, and both have been charged with the improper storage of a large capacity firearm near a minor, an indicator of not only the tangled web of illicit activity but of the casual disregard for the innocence it imperils.
Arvelo-Ruiz, arrested following a traffic stop before the search of his home, was charged with heroin/fentanyl trafficking, possession of a machine gun, and multiple counts related to illegal firearms possession and storage, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, the largescale takedown throws into stark relief the intersection of narcotics trafficking and illegal firearms within communities, a scourge that law enforcement agencies work tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle.
