$35,000 of cocaine seized from man using false identity
State Police arrested a 36-year-old man from the Dominican Republic using a false identity Thursday afternoon in Andover after a trooper found more than 160 bags of cocaine in his vehicle during a traffic stop. Francis Yermin Mejia-Gonzalez was charged with cocaine trafficking, giving a false name to police, and several motor vehicle violations, according to Massachusetts State Police. A state trooper on patrol stopped a Honda Odyssey Mejia-Gonzales was driving around 1:20 p.m. after he observed the vehicle violate “several” motor vehicle laws, state police said. After further investigation, the trooper discovered the bags of cocaine amounting to about 800 grams and more than $35,000. During booking, police said fingerprint results revealed the driver, initially identified as Marvin Perez-Varela, was actually Mejia-Gonzales. A report from Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed police the Dominican national had overstayed the visa he’d used to enter the U.S., according to police. Police said Mejia-Gonzales had fraudulently obtained a Massachusetts driver’s license. State police are investigating in cooperation with ICE, which has placed an immigration detainer on Mejia-Gonzales.
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