SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A Springfield man was arrested Wednesday after police seized a trafficking weight of crack-cocaine and a ghost gun.

Springfield Police detectives have been investigating the suspect, 26-year-old Rafael Villanueva-Colon for the past month and were granted a search warrant for an apartment on Beacon Street. On Wednesday as officers were preparing to execute the warrant, Villanueva-Colon was seen leaving the apartment in a vehicle.

Officers stopped the vehicle before it left the driveway. Police found 26 grams of crack-cocaine and approximately 190 bags of heroin in a box inside Villanueva-Colon’s sweatshirt. Detectives then searched the apartment and found a ghost gun with 12 rounds of ammunition and more than $5,200 in cash.

Credit: Springfield Police Department

Villanueva-Colon was arrested and has been charged with the following:

  • Cocaine Trafficking 18-36 Grams
  • Possession with the Intent to Distribute a Class A Drug
  • Possession of a Firearm without an FID Card
  • Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm
  • Improper Storage of a Large Capacity Firearm
  • Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card

Since the beginning of 2023, Springfield Police have seized 67 illegally possessed firearms, including 10 being ghost guns. Nearly half of those firearms seized were through the Springfield Firearms Investigation Unit.