Freetown Rt. 24 Traffic Stop Leads to Fentanyl Bust

A Sunday afternoon traffic stop on Rt. 24 in Freetown led to the arrest of a Taunton man on a fentanyl dealing charge.

Massachusetts State Trooper Cody Smith was monitoring traffic on Rt. 24 southbound at 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 24 when he saw a speeding red Nissan Murano with a driver who appeared to be talking on a cell phone, state police said in a social media post. When Smith stopped the vehicle he said he saw the driver reach toward the front passenger seat area.

Smith said he saw a knife on the driver's person and performed a pat-search. Smith said during the pat search, he felt a baseball-sized item. The driver was secured in the rear of a cruiser. Smith said after subsequent investigation an item fell from Stavrou's pant leg. Smith suspected the item to be a bag of fentanyl and placed the man under arrest.

Smith searched the vehicle and allegedly found a large amount of cash, multiple cell phones, and Suboxone. The bag of suspected fentanyl weighed in at 61 grams.

The driver was identified as Taylor Stavrou, 24, of Taunton. Smith said Stavrou had been driving on a revoked driver's license. He said Stavrou had been traveling 80 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone when he was stopped.

Stavrou was charged with trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a Class B substance, operation of a motor vehicle with a revoked driver's license, and speeding. He was due to be arraigned in Fall River District Court.

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