Cape Cod Man Among Ten Arrested in ‘Wide-Ranging’ Cocaine and Fentanyl Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Cape Cod man is among ten individuals charged in a wide-ranging fentanyl and cocaine conspiracy in federal court in Boston.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office assigned to Massachusetts says 38-year-old Brian Donahue, of Truro, was arrested along with six other people on Thursday, most of whom are from Brockton.

Two more suspects, 32-year-old Djuna and 26-year-old Cody Goncalves, both of Brockton, were already in state custody at the time of the arrests. A third Brockton man, 20-year-old Anthony Goncalves, is currently at-large.

Also arrested in the operation was 27-year-old Angelo Pina, of Brockton; 40-year-old Calvin Mendes, of Brockton; 33-year-old Carlos Antunes, of Brockton; 32-year-old Jermaine Gonsalves, of Brockton; 30-year-old Ozair Pereira, of Brockton; and 21-year-old Joseph Greene, of Taunton.

“This morning’s arrests should remind all gang members and drug traffickers that they cannot operate freely in this state,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling.

“Over the past year, in conjunction with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we have removed dozens of violent criminals from our communities, and we will continue to do so.”

All 10 individuals are charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

According to the charging document, in 2018, federal, state, and local law enforcement began investigating Djuna Goncalves and other alleged members of A Block, a violent Brockton Street gang whose members typically come from Addison Avenue or the surrounding neighborhood, which have for years been plagued by shootings, including two murders, and other crimes of violence.

It is alleged that during the investigation, Djuna Goncalves and his brothers Cody and Anthony Goncalves distributed large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs from an apartment on Addison Avenue to A Block members and other drug traffickers in Brockton and southeastern Massachusetts.

Djuna and Cody Goncalves and Calvin Mendes distributed drugs while on pre-trial release for pending state drug trafficking and gun possession charges. Djuna Goncalves and Angelo Pina were previously convicted of drug trafficking offenses in federal court in Boston, and Pina is still on supervised release from his prior federal conviction.

On October 21, 2018, Djuna Goncalves survived an assassination attempt after an unidentified assailant fired multiple shots into his basement apartment. It is alleged that when law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Goncalves’ home, they recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a Glock .45 caliber pistol, a large number of ammunition clips to various types of firearms and accompanying ammunition, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, suboxone strips, a hydraulic press, packaging materials, digital scales, and approximately $12,000 in cash. Djuna and Cody Goncalves were subsequently arrested on state charges as a result of the evidence seized during the execution of the search warrant.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Lelling; HSI SAC Fitzhugh; DEA SAC Boyle; Colonel Gilpin; DA Cruz; and Chief Crowley made the announcement today. The United States Marshals Service provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center 

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