Methuen, Massachusetts: $300K Cash, 9 Kilos Of Cocaine Seized In Drug Raid

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Nine kilos of cocaine and $300K cash were seized by federal agents and state police during a recent search in Methuen. Three men are facing money laundering and drug distribution charges.

Nine kilos of cocaine and $300,000 cash were seized from a Methuen home last month, authorities confirmed.

Three men were charged as part of the multi-jurisdictional investigation into a “highly sophisticated drug trafficking organization” linked to a Mexican drug cartel, according to information provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Nine kilos of cocaine, with a street value of roughly $300,000, and $300,000 cash were seized when a search warrant was executed at 7 Linton Ave., Methuen.

Three men — Leonardo Lara, Leandro Martineze, both residents of the Dominican Republic, and Merced Morfin, a Mexican national — were charged. All three men, who are in their early 40s, are charged with federal money laundering and illegal drug distribution charges, according to the DEA.

The three men were living in Lawrence at the time of their arrest, authorities said.

The seizures and arrest were part of the DEA’s Cross Border Initiative working in conjunction with Massachusetts State Police.

North Andover, Haverhill, Lowell, Tewksbury, and Salem, New Hampshire, police assisted with the investigation, according to the DEA.

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