EAST PROVIDENCE — East Providence police have arrested 44-year-old Karl Vazquez Ayala on an array of firearms and narcotics charges, the result of a collaborative effort with multiple law enforcement agencies.
The investigation, which included the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Rhode Island State Police High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Pawtucket Police Department, and the East Providence Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, targeted shipments of narcotics through the U.S. mail system destined for East Providence and Pawtucket.
Vazquez Ayala, a resident of 136 Roma Street in East Providence, was identified as a key figure in the operation and was apprehended at a Pawtucket location.
Authorities executed a search warrant at his East Providence home, uncovering 1 kilogram of cocaine, 128 grams of heroin, two semi-automatic pistols, large capacity magazines, and $3,700 in cash.
The charges against Vazquez Ayala, levied by the East Providence Police Department, include manufacturing, selling, and possession with intent to manufacture or sell cocaine and heroin, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence (two counts), maintaining a common nuisance/controlled substance, possession of large capacity feeding devices (two counts), and a warrant of arrest on affidavit.
After his arraignment, Vazquez Ayala was held without bail.
