Police: Three charged, $4,384 seized after New Bedford detectives watch suspected West End drug sale
Police said detectives stopped one man, then a car at Shawmut Avenue and Durfee Street, and took the driver and passenger into custody.
NEW BEDFORD New Bedford detectives conducting surveillance in the city's West End on Wednesday, Nov. 4, charged three people with drug offenses and seized $4,384 in cash, police said.
Detectives saw activity consistent with a suspected narcotics transaction and stopped Caesar Soares, 31, who police said had 1.1 grams of suspected crack cocaine, according to a release from the New Bedford Police Department. As the investigation continued, detectives stopped a vehicle at the intersection of Shawmut Avenue and Durfee Street, police said.
The driver, Daejhon Gomes, 28, of Earle Street, and the passenger, Daziere Colton, 22, of Hillman Street, were taken into custody, police said. Detectives found another 0.1 grams of suspected crack cocaine when they searched the vehicle, and they seized $4,051 from Gomes and $333 from Colton as drug proceeds, according to the department.
The charges
Gomes was arrested and charged with distributing a class B drug, possession with intent to distribute a class B drug, conspiracy to violate the drug law and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked license, police said.
Colton was arrested and charged with distributing a class B drug, possession with intent to distribute a class B drug and conspiracy to violate the drug law, according to the department.
Soares was summonsed and charged with possession of a class B drug and conspiracy to violate the drug law, police said.
What the charges carry
Cocaine falls in Class B under the state's controlled substances law, which lists coca leaves and their derivatives in that class in Chapter 94C, Section 31 of the General Laws.
Distributing cocaine, or possessing it with intent to distribute, is punishable under Section 32A(c) by up to 10 years in state prison, up to 2 1/2 years in a jail or house of correction, or a fine of up to $10,000, and a prison or jail term may also carry a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Possessing a controlled substance carries up to a year of imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both for a first offense under Section 34.
Under Section 40, a conspiracy to violate the drug law is punishable by imprisonment, a fine or both, which cannot exceed the maximum for the offense the conspiracy aimed at.
The charges are allegations, and Soares, Gomes and Colton are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What happens next
South Coast 360 will add the court, the arraignment dates and any response from Soares, Gomes, Colton or their lawyers to this story when they are confirmed.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact about the stops, the drugs, the cash and the charges comes from the New Bedford Police Department's release, which its public information officer sent us on the afternoon of Nov. 10; it is the police account. The penalties come from the text of state law on the Legislature's website, read Nov. 10. The $4,384 total is our sum of the two amounts police gave. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (5)
- New Bedford Police Department, release on the Nov. 4 West End surveillance and the three people charged, sent by email by Public Information Officer Holly Huntoon (Nov. 10, 2026, 3:43 p.m.)The Nov. 4 surveillance in the West End, the stop of Soares and the 1.1 grams, the vehicle stop at Shawmut Avenue and Durfee Street, the driver and passenger with ages and streets, the 0.1 grams, the $4,051 and $333 seized, and every charge. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 94C, Section 31Class B, paragraph (a), clause (4): coca leaves and their derivatives. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 94C, Section 32APenalties for distributing or possessing with intent to distribute a Class B substance, subsection (c). Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 94C, Section 34Penalty for possessing a controlled substance, text effective April 19, 2026. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 94C, Section 40Penalty for conspiracy to violate the controlled substances law. Read Nov. 10, 2026.