Year-Long Investigation Leads to Fall River Man Behind Bars
New Bedford, MA — New Bedford police, in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) have arrested a Fall River man with New Bedford ties after he was found selling illegal narcotics, firearms, and other contraband on a cloud-based app. The leading case agent was Det. Kevin Barbosa of the New Bedford Police Department.
The suspect, identified as Benjamin Hunt, 26, was arrested on Aug. 28th and charged with three counts of distribution of controlled substances and one count of transferring machine guns. He allegedly advertised various types of controlled substances including counterfeit pharmaceutical pills containing fentanyl and other drugs, as well as firearm and firearm parts including privately made firearm “ghost guns,” as well as machine gun conversion devices, known as “switches,” which are designed to convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. A ghost gun is defined as a firearm that is assembled by an individual from parts that are purchased or made at home that lack a serial number.
Multiple search warrants were executed in New Bedford and Fall River that led to the seizure of significant illegal narcotics and an arsenal of firearms including:
- Thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamines
- 55 grams of suspected cocaine
- Three assault rifles
- 39 “ghost gun” Glock-style pistols
- Three rifle silencers
- 22 machine gun conversion devices aka “switches”
- A 50-round drum magazine
- 10 31-round extended magazines
- And two 3D printers
Additionally, on July 7th, Marcell Goncalves, 27, of 25 Dudley Street, who is an associate of Hunt, was arrested by New Bedford police with a “ghost gun,” identical to the ones seized from Hunt’s arsenal.
“I’m proud of Detective Kevin Barbosa’s diligence which led to the execution of these warrants which yielded such a substantial amount of contraband,” said Chief Paul Oliveira. “Of course, we cannot overstate the importance of having the strong relationship and support of the DEA and ATF. It is a job well done all around and I am appreciative to all of the men and women involved.”
“Det. Barbosa displayed skill and perseverance in taking down Mr. Hunt’s enterprise of distributing guns, gun accessories, and fentanyl masquerading as Percocet pills into our community,” said Capt. Justin Kagan, commanding officer of the Narcotics and Criminal Investigation Division of the New Bedford Police Department.