TEWKSBURY, Mass. — A warrant operation before dawn at a Main Street motel in Tewksbury ended on Wednesday morning with a regional SWAT team arresting a Lawrence man who, police say, was carrying about 49.1 grams of suspected cocaine — and who investigators allege had been holding two women against their will inside the motel room.

Source: Tewksbury Police Department statement via JGPR

A 2:45 a.m. tip, and a warrant out of Lawrence

At about 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, Tewksbury Police learned that a man staying at a motel on Main Street in Tewksbury had an outstanding arrest warrant from Lawrence District Court, according to a statement issued by Chief Ryan M. Columbus. The department has not publicly described what the Lawrence warrant itself was for.

Because of the man's criminal history, Tewksbury Police did not serve the warrant with patrol officers alone. The department asked the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council — the regional agency known as NEMLEC — to send its SWAT team to help serve the warrant, the statement said.

Officers arrested Carlos Candelario, 36, of Lawrence, at the motel at about 6 a.m. on Wednesday. During the arrest, officers found approximately 49.1 grams of suspected cocaine on him, police said — more than the 36-gram threshold named in the trafficking charge he now faces.

Two women inside the room

Two women were also inside the motel room. A subsequent investigation indicated that Candelario had held them against their will, police said. During the arrest, police allege, Candelario threatened the two women in an attempt to prevent them from speaking with investigators — the allegation behind the separate charge of intimidating a witness.

Source: N'Cuffs, reporting the Tewksbury police account

During booking, police determined that Candelario — who is known to Tewksbury Police — had used a false identification document to rent the motel room. That finding is the basis of the identity fraud charge. The police statement does not say how long the women had allegedly been held, and it does not name them.

Arraigned Thursday, held without bail

Candelario was arraigned on Thursday, October 29, in Lowell District Court, where a judge ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Monday, November 2. At that hearing, the court will decide whether he stays in custody while the case moves forward or is released on conditions.

Why the response was so heavy

Tewksbury is a Middlesex County town on the I-495 corridor, a short drive south of Lawrence, and its Main Street motels sit on one of the Merrimack Valley's busiest road corridors. Police have pointed to exactly two things to explain the scale of the operation: an outstanding court warrant, and a criminal history they judged serious enough to bring in a regional SWAT team rather than knock on the door with local officers alone.

For the two women, the arrest ended the confinement police allege they were under, and investigators were able to speak with them once Candelario was in custody. Tewksbury Police used the arrest to publicise the department's Drug Unit tip line — residents can call or text 339-221-4583 with information about suspected drug activity and may ask to remain anonymous; emergencies should always go to 911.

What happens next

The next step is the November 2 dangerousness hearing in Lowell District Court. The substance police describe as suspected cocaine must still be formally identified through the court process, and prosecutors will have to prove each charge — trafficking, kidnapping, witness intimidation, identity fraud and possession with intent to distribute — in court.

The charges are allegations. As the Tewksbury Police Department's own statement puts it, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.