LAWRENCE — Federal agents arrested three Lawrence residents on drug trafficking charges and another dozen individuals believed to be undocumented residents in Sunday morning operations in the city.
Three Dominican nationals residing in Lawrence were arrested on drug trafficking charges, according to information released by the FBI and U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office in Boston Tuesday.
Juana Luduvina Aguasvivas, 66, Richard Arias-Aguasvivas, 38, and Ariel Ruiz, 31, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
All three appeared in federal court in Boston on March 10, 2025, according to federal authorities.
Another 12 “individuals believed to be here illegally, including a suspected associate of the Triniatrios gang,” were also detained, according to the FBI.
The names and ages of those detained were not provided.
FBI agents in Boston are working alongside Immigration and Custom Enforcement and Homeland Security investigators in Boston to support “immigration enforcement operations,” according to an FBI post on social media.
Lawrence residents reported FBI and other federal agents raided a home and took numerous people into custody at a home in the 100 block of Haverhill Street early Sunday morning.
In April 2021, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization operating in Lawrence that was supplying fentanyl with a cocaine base and cutting agents to customers, according to court records.
Between April 2021 and November 2024, more than a dozen controlled purchases were conducted using confidential sources, during which it is alleged that Aguasvivas, Arias-Aguasvivas, or Ruiz sold more than 600 grams of fentanyl, more than 60 grams of cocaine base and copious amounts of cutting agents. Through recordings of the controlled purchases and surveillance, Aguasvivas, Arias-Aguasvivas and Ruiz were allegedly identified as the primary distributors for the drug trafficking ring, authorities said.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.
Foley and Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, announced the arrests.
Valuable assistance was provided by the North Andover, Billerica, Haverhill, Methuen and Lowell police departments, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police and the Internal Revenue Service.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, authorities said.