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Attorney General Mike DeWine
100 Suspects Charged
in 756-Count Drug Trafficking Indictment
Charges Include Trafficking of Fentanyl, Carfentanil, Heroin, and
Cocaine
(EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine joined
members of the Columbiana County Drug Task Force in East Liverpool
today to announce details of a 756-count indictment filed against 100
people in connection with a large-scale fentanyl, carfentanil, heroin,
and cocaine trafficking ring.
Authorities began serving arrest warrants as part of "Operation Big
Oak" (Breaking Into Gangs/Opiate Addiction Knockdown) on Monday.
According to investigators, those accused of trafficking drugs as part
of the drug trafficking organization are allegedly responsible for
funneling the equivalent of approximately 1 million potentially fatal
doses of carfentanil and approximately 350,000 potentially fatal doses
of fentanyl into Columbiana County alone.
“The amount of fentanyl and carfentanil that this drug trafficking
organization allegedly brought to this area was enough to kill every
single person in Columbiana County, plus every man, woman, and child in
11 other nearby counties,” said Attorney General DeWine. “During
the course of this investigation, an East Liverpool officer came in
contact with a small amount of fentanyl and nearly died. That is how
dangerous these drugs are, and that is why those charged as part of
this investigation must be held accountable.”
The drug trafficking ring is alleged to have primarily operated between
Cuyahoga and Columbiana counties since 2014. Three Cuyahoga
County men, who are the alleged ringleaders of the operation, are
accused of operating the drug ring as part of the “Down the Way”
criminal street gang. The men are all facing multiple charges
related to the trafficking of fentanyl and the trafficking of heroin
and/or cocaine.
A fourth Cuyahoga County man, who was also identified as an alleged
ringleader of the organization, is accused of trafficking carfentanil,
fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine as part of the drug operation.
According to investigators, the four suspects allegedly sold the drugs
to dozens of mid-level traffickers who then sold the drugs across
Columbiana County.
A total of 51 alleged mid-level traffickers from Columbiana, Cuyahoga,
Tuscarawas, and Mahoning counties are also facing one or more charges
related to the trafficking of fentanyl, carfentanil, heroin, or
cocaine.
Nine of the aforementioned suspects are charged with engaging in a
pattern of corrupt activity, a felony of the first degree, which
carries a mandatory 11-year prison sentence upon conviction.
A full list of trafficking suspects in custody as of noon today can be
found on the Attorney General's website.
Forty-five lower-level suspects were also indicted after investigators
found that they allegedly contributed to the actions of the drug
trafficking organization.
Two suspects are charged with felony assault for allegedly exposing
East Liverpool Police Officer Chris Green to fentanyl during a May 2017
traffic stop conducted as part of the investigation into this drug
trafficking ring. Officer Green survived the exposure after being
revived with four doses of naloxone.
The Columbiana County Drug Task Force and Ohio Bureau of Criminal
Investigation special agents working as part of Attorney General
DeWine's Heroin Unit investigated the case. The case is being
prosecuted by special prosecutors with Attorney General DeWine's Heroin
Unit and Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron.
The Columbiana County Drug Task Force is led by the Columbiana County
Sheriff’s Office and includes investigators from the Columbiana Police
Department, East Liverpool Police Department, East Palestine Police
Department, Lisbon Police Department, Liverpool Township Police
Department, Salem Police Department, and Columbiana County Prosecutor’s
Office.
In total, the 756-count indictment lists one or more of the following
charges: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, participating in a
criminal gang, aggravated trafficking in drugs (fentanyl, carfentanil,
or oxycodone), aggravated trafficking in heroin, trafficking in heroin,
trafficking in heroin in the vicinity of a school, aggravated
trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine, attempted trafficking
in cocaine, trafficking in the vicinity of a juvenile, trafficking in
marijuana, assault, corrupting another with drugs, having weapons under
disability, permitting drug abuse, tampering with evidence, possession
of cocaine, aggravated possession of drugs.
Authorities with the U.S. Marshals Service and Hancock County (W.Va.)
Sheriff's Office are assisting with serving arrest warrants on the 100
suspects charged as part of the investigation.
Attorney General DeWine created the Heroin Unit in 2013. The unit
is made up of authorities from the Attorney General’s Bureau of
Criminal Investigation (BCI), Special Prosecutions Section, and Ohio
Organized Crime Investigations Commission who focus on assisting local
authorities with investigating and prosecuting high-level drug
traffickers in Ohio. The unit also includes education and
outreach specialists from the Attorney General’s Office.
Local law enforcement agencies interested in receiving assistance from
the Attorney General’s Heroin Unit should call 855-BCI-OHIO.
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