Holyoke woman arrested for drug distribution after police find 148 vials of crack cocaine in dumpster

HOLYOKE – On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, Holyoke Police Officer Justo Pagan was conducting narcotics enforcement in the mouth of the alley located at Sargeant Street between Maple and High streets.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Justo Pagan and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

Holyoke police narcotics detectives and personnel from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were also conducting drug enforcement operations in the city at the time, Officer Pagan said.

“It should be noted this area is known to officers as a distribution location for street level narcotics,” Officer Pagan said. He added that the area, which has a history of violent crimes such as shootings, stabbings, and assaults, is also known to the Holyoke Police Department for the street-level distribution of narcotics such as heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine.

Officer Pagan said that while he was in a fixed location with an unobstructed view observing the alleyway for narcotic distribution activity, he and other officers observed several individuals enter the alleyway, proceed to a blue dumpster, and conceal themselves behind said dumpster.

Officer Pagan said a woman wearing a black hoodie and dark pants then emerged from the rear of the fenced-in property at 120 Sargeant Street. He said she was later identified as Wilma Varela Mayorga.

According to police, Wilma Y. Varela Mayorga, 48, is a resident of Holyoke, MA.

While conducting surveillance, Officer Pagan said he observed Mayorga guide potential buyers over to the side of the dumpster, where quick hand-to-hand exchanges took place.

“At certain times buyers would form a group around the dumpster and wait to be served,” Officer Pagan said. “Based on my observations, the suspected buyers would immediately leave the area after purchasing narcotics.”

At approximately 1:29 p.m., Officer Pagan and about eight other members of the Holyoke Police Department responded to the rear of 120 Sargeant Street.

When officers arrived on scene, Mayorga was located in the rear of 120 Sargeant Street.

“It should be noted that the rear of 120 Sargeant is a fenced-in location with clear unobstructed no trespassing signs affixed to the fence,” Officer Pagan said.

In the dumpster, a responding officer found a paper bag from McDonald’s containing a navy blue crossbody bag.

“Inside the crossbody bag, there were multiple denominations of U.S. Currency, as well as a large quantity of clear, yellow and purple translucent vials containing a white, chalky substance believed to be crack cocaine,” Officer Pagan said. He added that the suspected crack cocaine was packaged for street-level distribution.

“The location in which the transactions were observed is where the crossbody bag containing narcotics and money was located,” Officer Pagan said. “A total of 148 vials containing suspected crack cocaine was recovered from the crossbody bag.”

Mayorga was placed under arrested and secured in the rear of a cruiser.

“I then checked the rear porches of 663 High Street which abuts and shares the same rear fenced-in yard as 120 Sargeant Street,” Officer Pagan said. “Luis Nieves was located concealing himself on the second-floor rear porch landing behind cardboard that was affixed to the railing. Nieves stated he lived at that location, however when asked why he was hiding, he had no answer. Nieves’ information was queried through the Holyoke Police Records Bureau which came back positive for active warrants for his arrest.”

Officer Pagan said Nieves had three outstanding arrest warrants. Holyoke District Court issued two, one for conspiracy to violate drug laws and the other for possession of a Class B drug. Springfield District Court issued the third for shoplifting by concealing merchandise valued at $250 or more.

Nieves was handcuffed and secured in the rear of another cruiser at the scene.

“Officer [Edward] Guerrero transported Varela while I transported Nieves to the Holyoke Police Station for the arrest and booking process,” Officer Pagan said. “Detective [Anthony] Brach secured the evidence recovered on scene, assigned a number and submitted it into evidence. A total of $453.00 was seized and submitted as I believe the currency was proceeds from drug distribution sales.”

Mayorga was arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Oct. 5, 2026, after a default warrant was issued for her arrest when she failed to appear for her arraignment which was initially scheduled for Oct. 1, 2026. Following her arraignment, Mayorga was released on $1,500 cash bail. She then attended a pretrial hearing on Nov. 2, 2026, which was continued to Dec. 1, 2026.

(Please note, the records News Link Live obtained from its public records request of the incident did not include Nieves’ arraignment and subsequent court date information.)

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in September, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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