Police Seize Heroin, Guns After Lengthy Investigation
From a Press release received from the Berkshire County District Attorneys Office.
The Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force, State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office and the Pittsfield Police Department seized approximately 13,500 bags of heroin, multiple firearms, and cash resulting from several months of investigation.
Police arrested 24-year-old Raekwan Jackson, of Springfield, 25-year-old Ka’refi Hillery, of Woonsocket, R.I., 27-year-old Shawn Sanders of Dorchester, and 23-year-old Bertram Oram of Springfield during the Tuesday night (Oct. 20) operation.
At approximately 8 p.m., the Task Force and partner agencies executed multiple search warrants in Pittsfield after observing the suspects arrive at a hotel on West Housatonic Street. Task Force members, in coordination with Hampden County State Police Detective Unit, then executed search warrants on two residences in Springfield. Law enforcement’s surveillance and coordinated investigative measures linked the Pittsfield location to the Springfield-area base of operation.
In total, police seized approximately 13,500 bags of heroin, three firearms, and approximately $8,000 in cash.
District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.
"I thank my law enforcement partners for their dedication to this long-term investigation. Securing the search warrants required painstaking investigation, The opioid epidemic has devastated families in our community. Our strategy is to provide community services for those with substance abuse disorder to reduce demand while focusing our investigations and prosecutions on those who saturate our community with dangerous drugs and guns.”
Central Berkshire District Court arraigned Hillery, Sanders, and Oram on charges of trafficking in heroin with 200 grams or more. The court arraigned Jackson on the same charge plus three counts of possession of a firearm without a license to carry, three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, three counts of improper storage of a firearm, four counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card, and armed career felon.
The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office requested the court hold the defendants without the right to bail pre-trial under the dangerousness statute. Judge Jennifer Tyne scheduled a dangerousness hearing for Friday (Oct. 23).
The Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force, Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, Berkshire Sheriff’s Office and the Pittsfield Police Department led the investigation.
Providing additional assistance were troopers assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force, FBI Western Mass Gang Task Force, North Adams Police, Springfield Police and the Attorney General’s Office.
Sent from Berkshire County DA's Office,
Andrew McKeever, Public Information Officer.
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