Wellesley Police Department Detective Stanley Dunajski recently received the “Investigative Achievement Award” from the United States Attorney’s Office for his contribution to a major narcotics investigation in Worcester County. Detective Dunajski works with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Task Force Officer, splitting his time between the DEA and Wellesley PD.
The DEA learned that the defendant in the case, a previously convicted felon, was potentially manufacturing and distributing fentanyl in Massachusetts. Detective Dunajski, along with the members of the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad in Worcester began an investigation. The investigation lasted many months and culminated with a controlled purchase of 2,000 illegal fentanyl pills from the defendant. The defendant was arrested at that time.
Subsequent to the arrest, Detective Dunajski and the DEA squad recovered some additional 14,000 fentanyl pills ready to be sold (estimated street value of $840,000) and over 50 kilos of N-Phenethyl-4-Piperidinone (NPP). NPP is the raw material used to make illicit fentanyl. DEA experts concluded that the NPP recovered was enough to make some 19 million illegal fentanyl pills, worth over 570 million dollars. This is the largest seizure of raw fentanyl making material in New England in recent years and represents a significant victory in the opioid epidemic that has plagued the United States.
The defendant in the case was ultimately convicted in Federal Court, and received a 14 year sentence, along with a 1.1 million dollar fine. The defendant also forfeited two restaurants, $230,000 in cash, $12,000 in silver, and 9 properties in Worcester County that were all determined to have been purchased by illegal drug profits.
Detective Dunajski is veteran investigator and police officer with the Wellesley Police Department. In addition to his work with the DEA, he also is a member of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC) bike patrol unit. The metro bike unit is often deployed to high profile incidents, including Duck Boat parades for World Series and Super Bowl celebrations, as well as large scale protests in Boston and the surrounding communities.