Two men were taken into custody this weekend in connection with a "large-scale Massachusetts drug trafficking enterprise" after authorities confiscated three kilograms of suspected cocaine that had been mailed from Puerto Rico to an apartment in Quincy.
Massachusetts State Police said Stephen Marsden, 35, of Quincy, and Evans Klimavhich, 41, of Worcester, were arrested Friday following a "lengthy investigation" by their department and United States Postal Inspectors.
According to state police, the cocaine was discovered when they executed a search warrant on the parcel after it was delivered to Marsden's Cove Way apartment Friday morning.
Authorities also searched Marsden's apartment, his Infiniti Q50 sedan, and a home in Worcester that belongs to Klimavich, who police name as a co-conspirator of Marsden's in the drug operation.
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At Marsden's Quincy apartment, authorities allegedly found five firearms, 143 loose rounds of ammunition, dozens of THC edible packages, approximately 80 Xanax pills, a money counting device, and materials used in the packaging of narcotics. Police said a check revealed that one of the guns had been stolen during a housebreak in Oxford, North Carolina.
A discovery in the Quincy apartment led troopers to also search an office space rented by Marsden on Oregon Street in Fall River. There, authorities found four ghost guns – firearms without serial numbers, making them untraceable, assembled privately from unfinished and unregulated parts purchased separately or in kits – and large-capacity magazines. Investigators also seized several pounds of THC edibles and an ATM machine from the rented space and observed other apparent uncompleted ghost firearms in the process of being manufactured from unregulated parts, police said.
Marsden, who police say does not have a license to carry firearms, was placed under arrest and charged with numerous drug and gun charges, including trafficking in cocaine; possession of a Class C narcotic (THC edibles) with intent to distribute; possession of a Class E narcotic (Xanax) with intent to distribute; unlawful possession of a firearm; possession of a firearm in commission of a felony; unlawful possession of ammunition; and improper storage of a firearm.
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While at Klimavhich's Worcester home on Allison Circle, investigators found another kilogram of suspected cocaine, approximately 50 pounds of marijuana, hundreds of vape cartridges, a quantity of psilocybin mushrooms, and approximately $52,000, police said.
Klimavich arrived home while authorities were conducting their search warrant, at which point he was taken into custody and charged with trafficking in cocaine; trafficking in marijuana; and trafficking in Class C narcotics (vape cartridges and mushrooms.)
State police say Marsden was being held on $50,000 cash bail pending his arraignment in Quincy District Court next week. Bail information for Klimavich was not immediately available; he's expected to be arraigned in Worcester District Court next week. It was not known if either man had obtained an attorney.
A joint investigation by state police and the US Postal Service is ongoing.
