A Boston man who allegedly supplied women with drugs and then sold them for sex, was arrested on Tuesday night.
Hendricks Mario Berdet, also known as "Capo," "Supa Capo" and "Supa Mario," 31, was arrested in Medford, Massachusetts, by Boston Police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office. He faces six counts of trafficking in persons for sexual servitude, two counts of heroin distribution and two counts of cocaine distribution.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday and bail was set at $150,000. He is being held for 60 days on a bail recovation in a separate drug case and is scheduled to return to court on March 8 for a probable causing hearing.
Healey said Berdet "preyed on vulnerable women, supplied them with addictive drugs and personally profited off of their sexual exploitation." She said the exploitation of women with addiction issues is a growing problem in Massachusetts.
The investigation is ongoing, and dates back to November of 2016. Police said Berdet supplied multiple women with drugs, including heroin and cocaine, in exchange for engaging in commercial sexual activity for his profit.
He would allegedly distribute the drugs to the women, post advertisements on websites known to advertise sexual services, and transport the women to various homes and hotels in Boston, Brookline, Newton and Waltham, where they would engage in sexual acts for a fee. The women allegedly gave all of the money they received to Berdet, who required them to reach a quota each night, usually between $1,000 and $1,500.
The arrest comes a day after Healey's office announced that two New Hampshire women had been arrested for trafficking women for commercial sex in Massachusetts cities and towns through an online escort service.
