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Springfield Police Narcotics detectives were conducting a heroin distribution investigation on Wednesday, April 14 when they saw a suspect, Jeffrey Cipriani, leave his area home, where he was followed to the residence of the investigation’s target, Efrain Morales Jr., in Feeding Hills.
According to police, the two met in an open garage while counting heroin half-packs (50 bags) that Cipriani took with him as he left the home.
While on his way home, police said that investigators conducted a traffic stop on St. James Avenue, where they found that Cipriani was in possession of 1,000 bags of heroin and placed him under arrest.
A subsequent search of Morales’ home in Feeding Hills was conducted shortly after midnight on Thursday, April 15 by members of the Springfield Police Emergency Services Unit (ESU), Narcotics Detectives, and Agawam Police Detectives.
Police said that inside the home, detectives seized an additional 26 grams of heroin (a total of 46 grams in 2330 bags), more than $16,000 in cash, two rifles, and more than 250 rounds of ammunition.
The weapons were legally registered to Morales’ wife, but were not secured. A criminal complaint was also issued for his wife.
Morales, 39, was charged with:
- Heroin trafficking between 36 and 100 grams;
- Two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony;
- Two counts of possession of a firearm without a license;
- Possession of ammunition without an FID card;
- Two counts of improper storage of a firearm;
- Possession of a Class E. drug (Gabapentin) with the intent to distribute.
Cipriani, age 56, is charged with heroin trafficking between 18 and 36 grams and the operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license.
No return court date for either man has been announced.
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