Yesterday, Holyoke Police Chief Brian Keenan announced the arrest of Stalin Marte-Castillo, 37, on charges of heroin/fentanyl trafficking, as detailed in a recent social media post from the department. The arrest followed a concerted operation involving multiple agencies aiming to dismantle illegal drug activities emanating from a Center Street home. Marte-Castillo was identified as a suspect leading up to the deployment of the search warrant.
Delving into the investigative process, the Massachusetts State Police CINRET-West and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department had built a case against Marte-Castillo. The investigators were successful in obtaining the go-ahead to search his residence. With the legal apparatus in place, yesterday at around 1:15 p.m., a collective force comprising Holyoke Police, Massachusetts State Police CINRET-West, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, DEA Springfield Resident Office, FBI Western Mass Gang Task Force, and the State Police Detectives assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, carried out the action, during which Marte-Castillo was detained.
The discovery within the home on Center Street was significant. Law enforcement personnel uncovered what they suspected to be about 159 half-packs — translating to nearly 8,000 bags — of heroin/fentanyl alongside a sum of cash. The drugs, weighing around 159 grams, signaled a major bust for the teams involved. In a fast-paced response, Marte-Castillo was placed under arrest, charged with trafficking an amount reported to be between 100 and 200 grams of the substances. Holyoke Police Department provided the details of the arrest and charges on social media.
