Sixteen people were charged for allegedly participating in a North Shore drug trafficking and money laundering scheme that distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, the US attorney’s office said Friday.
A federal grand jury in Boston has returned a superseding indictment that included a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, the office said in a statement.
Fourteen of the defendants were also among 23 people arrested and charged in October 2022 in connection with the North Shore-based drug trafficking organization.
Authorities allegedly seized more than 74,000 counterfeit pills during a bust of the North Shore operation in 2022. Investigators allegedly seized a pill press from the basement laundry room of a home on Moon Road in Lynn, along with bags containing three to four kilograms of suspected powdered fentanyl in various colors, along with a handgun.
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Authorities also searched a Saugus apartment on Rice Street, where thousands of counterfeit Adderall pills containing suspected methamphetamine were allegedly seized.
The distribution network was allegedly headed by brothers Lawrence Michael Nagle, 32, of Saugus and Christopher Nagle, 28, of Revere.
The group distributed Adderall, both pharmaceutical-grade pills and counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, Xanax, Oxycodone, and both pharmaceutical-grade and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana, among others, prosecutors said.
The 14 who were previously charged included Lawrence Michael Nagle, also known as “Mikey,” 32, of Saugus; Christopher Nagle, also known as “Cuda,” 28, of Revere; Javier Bello, also known as “Javi,” 27, of Beverly; Anthony Bryson, 33, of Billerica; Frantz Adolphe, 28, of Lynn; and, Soyanna Lages, 33, of Somerville, prosecutors said.
David Muise, also known as “Pinky,” 35, of Swampscott; David Delauri, 30 of Haverhill; Alexander Villar, 33, of Danvers; Edward Ortiz, 32, of Swampscott; Yaira Ramos-Rivera, 39, of Billerica; Jose Garcia, 45, of Roslindale; Chevon Dorce, 43, of Lynn; and Gino Castillo, 33, of Salem, were also among those previously charged, prosecutors said.
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Lawrence Michael Nagle also faced additional charges in the superseding indictment of two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, prosecutors said.
Three additional counts of possession with the intent to distribute various controlled substances were also filed against Nagle and Castillo, as well as a money laundering conspiracy charge against Nagle and two new co-defendants, Nancy Lopez, 33, of Saugus, and Samuel Saillant, 38, of Lynn, prosecutors said.
Lopez was arrested yesterday and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, was released on conditions, prosecutors said. Saillant will make an appearance at a later date.
Eleven of the original 23 defendants in the case have since pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.
Among them was Erick Solis Lopez, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $18,190, assorted jewelry, and two vehicles.
Adam Sennott can be reached at adam.sennott@globe.com.