The Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, or CINRET for short, is a specialized section within the Massachusetts State Police with the specific mission to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). They do this by identifying, investigating, and apprehending participants, and seizing the DTOs’ illicit assets acquired illegally through the drug trade.
In addition to seizing trafficking-weight amounts of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, pills and other narcotics, CINRET missions regularly secure firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars. These weapons, usually carried illegally and paired with high-capacity magazines, are characteristic of the illicit drug trade.
The Massachusetts State Police maintains three regional CINRET teams each team uses a task force model that incorporates local police and sheriff's department partners from each region. CINRET task forces also work frequently with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
In recent months, CINRET has conducted several lengthy investigations into large-scale drug trafficking operations.
• CINRET West seized more than 2,500 grams of Cocaine, 250 bags of Fentanyl, 6 firearms, and a large amount of cash in conjunction with the arrest of five individuals in Hampden County.
• CINRET South participated in a multi-state investigation that resulted in the seizure of more than 750 grams of Cocaine, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine as well as the arrest of 5 individuals. In this same investigation, authorities in Rhode Island seized another 500 grams of Cocaine, five firearms, and a large amount of cash.
These investigations, and subsequent arrests and seizures, require expertise and tremendous attention to detail. They are months-long and require around-the-clock work by investigators. Each successful mission provides an important deterrent to curb the flow of illicit narcotics into and throughout Massachusetts.
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