Police arrested a second man Wednesday in connection with a massive shipment of heroin that was sent to southern Vermont from Guatemala last year.
U.S. Attorney Eric Miller said in a news release that Marco Antonio Lam Peralta, 42, of South Londonderry, was arrested on a federal warrant alleging conspiracy to distribute heroin.
In October police arrested Diego Walther Anibal Mejia Paredes when he took delivery of a package they say contained 88 pounds of heroin disguised as a food product that federal agents had intercepted in Miami days earlier.
The seized heroin has a street value of “significantly more” than $5 million and could fill more than 1 million individual dosage bags, according to law enforcement. Officials said it was one of the largest seizures in recent years.
Mejia Paredes, a Guatemalan citizen, entered the U.S. just days before the controlled delivery outside a Manchester restaurant that led to his arrest, according to authorities. He’s being held without bail and awaiting prosecution, according to Miller.
Lam Peralta was arrested after an investigation by state and federal law enforcement allegedly revealed Mejia Paredes was working with him in connection with the intercepted shipment and previous shipments from Guatemala officers believe contained heroin.
Lam Peralta, whom Miller described as a pizza restaurateur without naming his business, was ordered held in the custody of U.S. Marshals after an initial court appearance Wednesday.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday, and Lam Peralta’s attorney told The Associated Press his client will plead not guilty if indicted by a grand jury.
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