BUTLER, Pa. (EYT) — Thirteen individuals have been charged in connection with an alleged cocaine trafficking organization that investigators say made hundreds of trips from Ohio to western Pennsylvania over the past year.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Friday, October 16, that the charges followed a joint investigation involving the Office of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police and several federal and local law enforcement agencies.
According to investigators, seven upper-level drug dealers operating out of Youngstown, Ohio, regularly traveled to Butler County to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine.
Authorities allege the drugs were sold directly to buyers or distributed through intermediaries living in Butler County.
The 13 defendants face felony corrupt organization charges, drug trafficking offenses, and related crimes.
Five of the seven Ohio-based defendants were arrested in Ohio earlier this week, while authorities continue efforts to locate two others.
Investigators said the Butler County-based dealers involved in the alleged operation were compensated with cash or drugs.
“This criminal organization made routine, sometimes daily, trips into Pennsylvania to distribute poisons into our communities,” Sunday said. “Working with our partners, these arrests effectively shut down a major cocaine trafficking pipeline.”
The investigation involved the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Butler County District Attorney’s Office, and Butler City Police Department.
Statewide Investigative Grand Jury proceedings were also part of the investigation.
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting authorities with ongoing efforts to take the remaining defendants into custody.
The cases will be prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.