An alleged drug dealer parked across the street from the Needham Coca-Cola plant at about 8:30 Monday morning, but for him things did not go better with coke that day.
Federal drug enforcement agents were also there on Third Street and they made a dramatic arrest for possession of more than 5 kilos of cocaine with intent to distribute.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed in U.S. District Court by the DEA special agent, Zachary Manickas-Hill, a trucker transporting 33 kilos (about 73 pounds) of cocaine was due to meet Gautier Frellin Troncoso of Methuen on the street to transfer the drugs. However, the trucker had been intercepted and charged with possession by a state trooper in Pennsylvania and was cooperating with the DEA. Troncoso was recorded discussing the money for the transaction and arrested when he took the bag of drugs and placed it in his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
It was apparently one of the largest cocaine busts in the state in the past 10 years, second only to a 73-kilo seizure in Revere last year. Extrapolating from a DEA press release that gave a value for a 30-kilo seizure in August, the drugs would have sold for nearly $1 million.
The affidavit tells a remarkable story. In Pennsylvania on Friday, the trucker, who is called the CS (confidential source) in the affidavit, was pulled over for tailgating by a state trooper. The trooper asked for and received permission to search the truck and found a cardboard box with 33 kilos of a substance that a field test indicated was cocaine. Federal authorities were brought in and the trucker agreed to continue his trip to Needham — along with the trooper — to meet with the alleged dealer.
The trucker reported he had made previous deliveries at the Third Street location. The affidavit states: “he would park near the Coca-Cola Building and open the hood of his truck and pretend like he was working on the motor. The man receiving the cocaine delivery would open the cab of the CS’s truck, take the cocaine, and leave money in the cab …”
By the time of the arrest, the DEA had substituted a non-narcotic substance for most of the original cocaine, as the legal charge is for possession of more than 5 kilos. There was a surveillance team there to document and secure the arrest.
The trucker was not the only cooperative alleged perpetrator. Upon being arrested, Troncoso chose to waive his Miranda rights and allowed investigators to search his cellphone, where they found an encrypted messaging app with information about the transaction.
The arrest took place without the involvement of the Needham Police. “We were not on scene or involved,” said Deputy Chief Chris Baker. “As far as I know this was not related to anything drug related in Needham.” Baker said the department had not been aware that Needham was used for such transfers, “but we certainly are now. It has never come up. It is what the driver stated during their investigation. It (the Third Street location) is very convenient to the highway and not conspicuous to passersby as there are many TT units (tractor-trailers) in and out of that office park all day long.”
Despite the coincidence of words, the events of the day did not involve the Coca-Cola plant or its employees. “We are aware of the arrest near our facility on September 26,” a spokesperson shared in a statement. “Court records show the activity took place on a public street, and nothing in them indicates any involvement by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast or its employees. We will cooperate fully with law enforcement and defer to them on further questions.”
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