Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. There was an error processing your request. A Hagerstown appliance store owner is charged with using it as a front for an illegal drug operation estimated to havehandled millions of dollars worth of drugs and proceeds, according to federal authorities. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. In December, Easton admitted to selling. News from around the State and World. Offering praise for the 14 agencies involved, including the drug task force, which led the overall effort, Harrah said Thursdays actions are especially important and send a message to local communities. The doctors at the clinic he set up were each jailed for a year. JCSO officials say "Operation Centennial Sweep" totaled 113 warrants for drugs involving methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, prescription narcotics, and marijuana. The bust resulted in a confiscation of 10 tons of cocaine, which was worth around $1.2 billion at the time. All Rights Reserved. Investigators said the bust is the largest drug haul in the world in terms of both value and quantity. Be Truthful. Daily News, Sports and Events from The ET. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Officers say they confiscated 20 grams of fentanyl. In addition to Mota, the news release listed those indicted in connection with the alleged operation as: All but 11 of the defendants had been arrested as of Wednesday. Europe and others push for a standard lunar time zone, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. A lot of times there will be property crimes and gun crimes (too) but its all inter-related and sometimes the gun crimes and property crimes will be secondary nature to the underlying drug investigation.. The bust was executed by members of the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department, State Police Beckley Detachment, FBI, ATF, and the Beckley-Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force. Drug firms say they acted responsibly in shipping millions of pills. Morgantown News Delivered to Your Inbox Each Week! Ciccarelli had come from pursuing Colombian cartels in Florida, but he already knew West Virginia well from working the drug beat as a police officer in the early 1980s. A Warner Bros. Chance of rain 90%. According to the sheriffs office, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Attorneys office assisted in nabbing $6.5 million in drugs, guns and cash linked to Mexicos notorious Sinaloa Cartel. Years later, all of the pharmacists claim to have not seen any of this. READ MORE: Trump supporter charged with assault after blowing on women near Virginia Trump club. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. READ MORE: Virginia massage therapist arrested for sexual battery while on the job. 267lbs. Theres no way people down there didnt know what was going on. The name of the pharmacys owner, Samuel R Ballengee PharmD, was displayed on the window under a sales pitch: Its all in the bag.. And there are big lines from the first day, said Smith. According to indictments . The Jackson County Bureau of Investigations spearheaded the investigation with the aid of officers from the Jackson County Sheriffs Department, Ravenswood Police Department, United States Marshal, Drug Enforcement Administration, West Virginia State Police and West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Be Nice. Spring fire season means fire burning guidelines. The giveaway was the drive-thru window, and the cars lined up past the abandoned ghost shops in downtown Williamson, West Virginia. The city of 48,000 residents along the Ohio River had a record 19 homicides last year, up from three in 2015. Robert Hott, 30, charged with federal counts of conspiracy to possession with intent to deliver and to distribute heroin and distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of a protected location. They shipped more narcotic painkillers to Mingo county per head of population than to any other place in the US. Oh, we were aware. Day one certainly exceeded expectations, said Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger. Covid-19 could be making things worse. Mary Ann Withrow, a federal agent, said investigators recorded that the Sav-Rite and the clinic were excessively busy for such a small town. Ballengee testified in earlier civil depositions. Some suspects switched phones regularly and used prepaid cell phones that did not need a subscribers name. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. According to a news release from the drug task force that was sent out Thursday morning, investigators spent the majority of this summer identifying criminal suspects allegedly involved in the sale and distribution of numerous controlled substances, including heroin, methamphetamine and prescription pills, in central West Virginia. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Weekly Fairmont news emailed every Thursday evening! April 17, 2018 10:15 AM PT. Daily news from the Mineral News & Tribune delivered to your email! Area listings from Your Bulletin Board with regular updates. Jenni Vincent 0:04 0:35 MARTINSBURG, W.Va. Berkeley County Sheriff Nathan Harmon is proud of his department's record marijuana bust, which netted product with an estimated street value of more. The campaign which was conducted under the banner of Operation Angels Envy - reportedly began in 2017, and concluded in February 2020. The doctors were careful to insist their prescriptions were filled only at pharmacies that would take the money and not ask questions. BRIDGEPORT In a collaborative effort from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, more than 80 people have been charged in one of the biggest drug busts in North Central West Virginia. Unfortunately many people seem to think that crap matters..it does not. Authorities estimate the value of the drugs at $8.5 million. The alleged drug trafficking ring is an example of fentanyl coming to the US from China, said US Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia. In the six years after Tug Valley opened, pharmaceutical distributors delivered nearly 11m of the most common type of opioid pill, hydrocodone. Heres everything you need to know about The Grinch sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. Chris McGreal is the author of American Overdose, The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, The Wellness Center was churning out so many opioid prescriptions that the fax machine couldnt keep up.. In some cases, the defendants face penalties of five to 40 years in prison, 20 years in prison and 10 years to life, Bernard said. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism "Drug traffickers don't work nine-to-five hours, so the people investigating this case have to work 24-seven, and this team worked for approximately a year investigating this case," he said. "The operation in this case, I think it's fair to say, dealt with millions of dollars of drugs and proceeds," he said. More than 20 people charged in drug bust in Central Virginia, Shenandoah Valley. On Tuesday, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney Rachel Romano and Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker announced that 87 individuals have been arrested with 78 arrests happening Tuesday all in connection to drug possession, distribution and trafficking in North Central West Virginia. I came from Point Pleasant. The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office announced late Friday afternoon the indictments of 79 people and the seizure of nearly $6 million in drugs in what they're calling the county's largest. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Still at largewere Mota, Luna, Rodriguez, Longus, Rose,Orrillio,Velasquez-Lopez,Pinkcett, Gregory, Brown and Nunez-Arias, authorities said. Thats really the design by nature, its the proverbial line in the sand moving forward. How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? On Oct. 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a truck crossing from Mexico into the United States at San Diego's Otay . CNN Authorities arrested 35 people and seized enough fentanyl to kill roughly 14 million people in a three-state drug bust announced on Thursday by the US Justice Department. Updated: Feb 9, 2023 / 02:18 PM EST WHEELING, W.Va. (WBOY) A major drug bust in Wheeling should impact the flow of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into Morgantown, Fairmont and Clarksburg, according to federal prosecutors. The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Law enforcement officials are encouraging members of the public who have information concerning the suspects involved to contact authorities. Doctors wrote the prescriptions. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 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Invalid password or account does not exist. Thirty people in the drug organization were indicted in state and federal court in southern West Virginia, and more arrest and search warrants were anticipated in Detroit, he said. 2. Of those arrested, 54 are from Clarksburg. What is xylazine? Both Ellifritz and Bruce expressed their appreciation for all the departments working together in order to execute this warrant. Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Employment | Affiliates Intranet A second mate and a crew member have been arrested in the. Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated in the raid of a Fort Myers auto. With any luck we have eight years of this stuff so if they dont like it, they can find somewhere else to live.. Both men are currently in the North Regional Jail. each comment to let us know of abusive posts. John Ingram Police say the two men were arrested for the felony offense of possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl and possession of fentanyl. Marshals Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among the agencies involved in the mass arrest, as well as the West Virginia State Police, Summersville Police Department, Nicholas County Sheriffs Department, Richwood Police Department, Fayette County Sheriffs Department, Fayetteville Police Department, Oak Hill Police Department, Mount Hope Police Department and the Montgomery Police Department. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, The investigation involved federal, state and local law enforcement agencies includingthe Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force; the Berkeley and Jefferson County sheriff's offices; the Martinsburg, Charles Town, Ranson and Hagerstown police departments;the Washington County Drug Task Force; West Virginia and Maryland state police; the FBI; the U.S. This big drug bust is similar to the others because it's linked to -- you guessed it -- cocaine. Ive been here since 1986, and this is the most narcotics Ive seen in a bust, Sheriff Ellifritz told the News & Tribune. On his way out the door, having made more than $250,000 from opioid prescribing in just two years, the doctor recruited his successor, Dr Augusto Abad, who lived 90 minutes away in the state capital, Charleston, and rarely saw patients. However, what they did is they talked to the pharmacists and told them they couldnt do that any more, he said. Hourly & 8-Day Forecast. That is a huge amount of drugs. The task force said the arrests occurred after investigators made hundreds of controlled purchases of narcotics and gathered evidence to substantiate the allegations before obtaining warrants. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. Scientists believe genetically-engineered blight-resistant trees will bring them back, Saving our applause until the curtain falls, Newel Health Awarded $2.5M Research Grant from The Michael J. You have permission to edit this article. This week's most popular news from around the State. Large amounts of suspected fentanyl, heroin and cocaine were seized from the operation before the sweep, including enough fentanyl to kill 250,000 people. At least one suspect ordered fentanyl from a vendor in Shanghai that was successfully mailed through US Postal Service to Newport News, Virginia, according to the indictment. And concluded in February 2020 Bruce expressed their appreciation for all the departments working together in order to this! Was the drive-thru window, and you are now logged in on women near Virginia Trump.... The drug enforcement Agency and the U.S did is they talked to the e-mail address listed your... 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