REVERE, MASS. (WHDH) - About $1 million worth of fentanyl, along with cocaine, a scale used for drug dealing, and an AR-15 assault weapon were all seized in Revere last week when detectives swooped in with federal agents, arresting a man living at a state-funded migrant shelter.
Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, 28, a Dominican national, is a resident at the Quality Inn on Route 1, which currently serves as a shelter. He was arrested last Friday on firearm and drug charges, officials said.
“Just a significant seizure of fentanyl,” said Revere Police Chief David Callahan.
Sources say Sanchez entered the United States illegally last year and had an ID on him from the New York City shelter system.
Investigators are now working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to figure out where the assault rifle and ammunition came from.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put an immigration detainer request on Sanchez after he pleaded not guilty to nearly a dozen charges.
“The message is, our main concern is we’re going to enforce the laws of the commonwealth and we’re concerned about the safety of the citizens of Revere,” Callahan said.
Quality Inn did not comment on the incident.
7NEWS reached out to Governor Maura Healey’s office for comment. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities responded with a statement that reads in part, “There is zero tolerance for criminal activity in EA [emergency assistance] shelters. We took immediate action to terminate this individual from the EA system…”
Sanchez is being held without bail and is due back in court next month. The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
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