Mother of two facing fentanyl trafficking charges | Local News

BEVERLY — A Beverly woman described by a prosecutor as a “significant” dealer on the North Shore was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of trafficking in fentanyl. 

Gabriela Gondim, 31, of 15 Ives St., had her two children, 10 and 12, in her Cadillac SUV when it got a flat tire on Sohier Road — where police were already watching her under a surveillance warrant that had allowed them to put a GPS tracker on that vehicle, prosecutor Michael Varone told a Salem District Court judge Friday at her arraignment. 

She pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking fentanyl and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. 

Police also had a search warrant for her apartment, where, Varone said, they found a total of 25.5 grams of fentanyl (nearly an ounce) and another 15 grams of cocaine, along with nearly $18,600 in cash and drug paraphernalia. 

The fentanyl, Varone told the judge, is worth around $100 an ounce. 

The synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and blamed for a majority of the overdose deaths last year in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.

Police in Everett and Beverly had begun investigating last December after receiving information about fentanyl being sold in those communities. 

Their target, initially, was a man. But over the course of 10 undercover purchases, they realized that Gondim was the actual leader of the group, said Varone. 

Gondim initially made some of the sales to a informant herself, said the prosecutor, then began using a “runner,” a younger Hispanic male. 

She also moved from Everett to Beverly during the course of the investigation. 

Varone said police would have moved in sooner to arrest her but did not want to interfere with a separate FBI investigation. 

He asked Judge Carol Ann Fraser to set bail at $150,000. 

John Benzan, Gondim’s lawyer, said his client is a naturalized citizen who once worked as a model and now runs a business buying cars at auto auctions. 

He called the prosecutor’s request “excessive,” and stressed her family ties to the area. 

“She is not the person running this organization, not even close,” said Benzan, who suggested no more than $5,000 bail. 

Fraser set bail at $50,000. “She was found with $18,000 cash and 40 grams of controlled substances,” said the judge.

Gondim’s children were picked up by her sister, who lives in Rockport, police said. They filed a report of suspected abuse or neglect with the Department of Children and Families due to the risk the kids potentially faced. 

A probable cause hearing was scheduled for June 10.   

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.