Page 6 - Trooper Summer 2021

In the Book

Welcome back Trooper Newspaper! It’s been too long. Pull up a chair and lets get goin’ shall we?

The year 2020 brought challenges to the entire MSP, and the Gang Unit faced zero exception. However, the Gang
Unit met every obstacle with dedication, enthusiasm, and creativity. The Gang Unit was tasked with responding to civil
unrest, staffing of COVID-19 test sites, COVID-19 fraud assignments, assisting federal, state, and local partners, just to
name a few. All while addressing these collateral duties, members of each team in the Unit were able to continue to work
diligently in their areas of responsibility. Also, in August 2020, The Gang Unit bid farewell to Unit Commander Detective
Lieutenant Matthew Aumais. DLT Aumais rose through the ranks from Trooper to DLT within the Gang Unit and retired to
Nantucket in the company of his loving wife and loyal dogs. DLT, enjoy your retirement sir, and thanks for everything.

The beginning of 2021 brought similar challenges with lockdowns
and restrictions, but barely held back the Gang Unit. Starting West, Unit
members worked tirelessly alongside federal and local partners leading
to large seizures of fentanyl, firearms, as well as currency from narcotic
enterprises off the streets of Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke. During the
spring of 2021, Unit members mentored a new sheriff Task Force Officer
(TFO) on his first search warrant. During one search warrant in March, this
team recovered three illegal firearms and thousands of dollars in cash.

Moving East, the Central Team saw success in one particular
investigation that stemmed from September 2020, involving a large-scale
marijuana trafficking ring. The Team utilized a Confidential Informant in
making several buys, and worked in concert with Leominster PD, who then
sought and was granted a search warrant that resulted in the seizure of
$200,000 cash in drug money, cocaine which was resealed in Frito’s chip bags, and several pounds of marijuana. The Central
Team hasn’t let up since: Unit members have worked diligently with Leominster and Fitchburg PD partners in street level
patrol, as well as investigations, that has led to the recovery of copious amounts of narcotics, both cocaine and fentanyl,
as well as illegal firearms. Another example of Centrals hard work is an investigation last spring, utilizing a confidential
informant into a target selling meth and meth pills disguised as Adderall. Central partnered with Worcester SPDU for the
investigation, and a search warrant execution led to the discovery of kilos of meth, an AK-47 style rifle, a “ghost” gun, and
$71,000 in cash.

Moving North, the MSP Gang Unit North Team hit the ground running in 2021 with investigations and proactive
patrols alongside their state and local partners. Proactive
street enforcement by the team has resulted in the
team seizing a “ghost” gun and hundreds of grams of
fentanyl in just one shift. Lawrence has been a non-stop
city for the North Team. They were at it again in April
with a patrol that resulted in 900 grams of fentanyl and
a gun. These proactive patrols are just a day in the life of
working on the North Team. The team works diligently
alongside Lawrence detectives as well as Essex County
Deputy Sheriffs to patrol Lawrence as well as Haverhill
and make their best effort to rid the streets of illegal
guns and narcotics. As you’ve read, they produce great
results, but continue their efforts.

Trooper Newsletter Page 5