Three arrests have followed the death of a 25-year-old woman, an alleged drug mule, at a local motel after she attempted to smuggle $100,000 in cocaine into the country from the Dominican Republic.

Nine days after medical teams found Mally Cruz-Rodriguez, of Puerto Rico, convulsing at the Park View Motel on Nov. 26, police took into custody Angel Biaz-Gil, 48, of Lawrence, Mass., in connection with an alleged drug trafficking operation that police say also included Cruz- Rodriguez’s twin sister and a second man, Escolastico Suero, 45, also of Lawrence, Mass.

Police took custody of Biaz- Gil at the Lawrence District Court on Thursday, Dec. 4 after he waived extradition to Salem, where he faces a charge of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute. Wanted in Wisconsin as well, Biaz-Gil is being held without bail.

Apprehended by authorities on Tuesday, Dec. 2, Suero was also charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute. He is being held in the Rockingham County jail on a $100,000 cash bail.

The arrests came after Cruz- Rodriguez’s death triggered a joint investigation between Salem and Lawrence, Mass., authorities, the Massachusetts State Police Fugitive/Auto Theft Task Force, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

According to Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten, the twin sisters landed at Logan International Airport in Boston on Tuesday, Nov. 25, after ingesting about $100,000 in prepackaged cocaine each. Though still awaiting the official results of Mally Cruz-Rodriguez’s autopsy, police believe she died the next morning as a direct result of the drugs in her system.

Police said her twin sister, Nelly Cruz-Rodriguez, was rushed to Parkland Medical Center and underwent emergency surgery after authorities determined that she had also ingested a large amount of cocaine.

Arraigned at her hospital bed on Friday, Nov. 28, Cruz-Rodriguez is being held on a $100,000 cash bail. Police have charged her with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

While Patten said the extent of the drug smuggling operation is not yet known, police have identified more suspects in the trafficking ring who may have been able to get the drugs out of their system and have obtained arrest warrants for several of them.

The cocaine may have been intended for distribution in southern New Hampshire or across the border in Lawrence, according to police.

Three Lawrence men arrested following a drug sting at a local hotel at about 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, are not connected to the cocaine trafficking operation, Patten said. Starlin Perez, 24, Felix Gomez, 28 and Mike Rivera, 19, were charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled drug, sale of a controlled drug and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, respectively, after detectives investigated reports of drug sales in the area. All three men were held on $25,000 cash bail pending their arraignment.

Police seized six grams of crack cocaine, $1,800 in cash and a vehicle during the sting operation.