The student body president at the University of Massachusetts Boston was arrested and charged as a repeat drug dealer last week after the Boston Police Drug Control Unit raided his Dorchester apartment.

Terral Ainooson, 25, was arrested along with roommate, Ryan Oshima, 23, on November 11, when police found more than a dozen plastic bags of marijuana, and seized cash, a grinder and a scale after searching their Sudan Street apartment.

Each was charged with drug possession with intent to distribute.

Ainooson, elected student body president in fall 2008, is a senior International Management major, according to the school’s student senate Web site. He has a criminal record. Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, said records show Ainooson had faced similar charges at least once before. The records did not indicate other details about the charges except to say they were not brought in Suffolk County, Wark said.

Oshima is a former UMass Boston student, a school spokesman said. The school’s official athletics Web site says he’s from La Jolla, Calif. and played baseball at Umass for three years.

In the raid, police knocked on the apartment door, but when no one responded officers forced their way in. They found the suspects in a bedroom, detained them and read them their Miranda rights, according to a police report. After officers showed them a search warrant, the pair volunteered the locations of the drugs, some of which were hidden in a Cheerios cereal box, and paraphernalia. The report also indicates that Ainooson and Oshima had been under investigation by the drug unit prior to the raid.

Oshima faces up to two years in jail or a fine or both. Ainooson, as a repeat offender, faces at least one year in prison or a fine or up to $10,000, or both.

About The Author

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine and the Blast Magazine Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Tweet @johnguilfoil.

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