BOSTON — Two Lawrence men have been arrested and arraigned as a result of a takedown by the AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force that recovered nearly 550 grams of fentanyl and a firearm, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. 

Julio Pimentel-German, age 29, and Elaine Soto Villar, age 24, were arrested Monday night as part of an investigation by AG Healey’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force including Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team North (CINRET-North), State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, and with assistance from the Haverhill, Methuen, and Lawrence Police Departments.  

Pimentel-German was charged with: 
 

• Trafficking in Fentanyl, 200 grams or more (1 count),  
• Trafficking in Fentanyl, 18 grams or more (9 counts),  
• Trafficking in Fentanyl, 36 grams or more (2 counts), 
• Distribution of a Class A Substance, to wit: Fentanyl (1 count), 
• Possession of a Class B Substance, to wit: Cocaine (1 count),  
• Possession of a Firearm without an FID card (1 count), 
• Possession of a Firearm during a felony (1 count) 

Soto Villar was charged with: 
 

• Trafficking in Fentanyl, 200 grams or more (1 count) 

The defendants were arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday in 

Lawrence District Court. Following the plea, Judge Kevin Gaffney set cash bail for Pimental-German at $300,000 and at $200,000 for Soto Villar. 

During the execution of a search warrant at a Lawrence residence on Monday, authorities seized 547 grams of suspected fentanyl and a firearm. Monday’s takedown followed a series of undercover buys from Pimentel-German. 

These charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

AG Healey’s Office has prioritized combatting the opioid crisis and has been working closely with federal, state and local partners to fight illegal drug trafficking throughout New England. The AG’s New England Fentanyl Strike Force was created in 2016 using a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Anti-Heroin Task Force and has since been strengthened with a nearly $3 million grant in 2018, a $2.6 million grant in 2019, and a $3.8 million grant in 2021, which have expanded ongoing multistate and cross-jurisdictional investigations. Since its launch, the Strike Force has seized more than 400 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl including tens of thousands of opioid pills and millions of dollars in cash and arrested more than 530 suspects. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Kirshenbaum of AG Healey’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crimes Division. 

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