2021, the Eastern Panhandle Drugs & Violent Crimes Task Force and the Martinsburg City Police Department Detective Unit and Uniformed Patrol Division, were involved in a combined effort investigation which resulted in a traffic stop of a vehicle on South Queen Street. Fifty years ago this summer, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. In the evening hours of April 27th. Mostly sunny. The circle was complete. Critics have said it could be used to challenge local nondiscrimination ordinances or government-mandated vaccine requirements. Closings & Delays. At first he planned to approach it the way he investigated marijuana: by working along the chain from the user to the dealer to the producer with the threat of jail to prise information from suspects. News from around the State and World. If the warnings sounded by pain specialists and doctors in the first few years had been heeded, the crisis might have been averted or at least greatly diminished. Officers seized 24 firearms, 30 kilograms of heroin, 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than $700,000 in cash along with 30 kilograms of fentanyl, according to a press release from the US attorneys office. 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. 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Share with Us. 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. NELSON COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Twenty-two people in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley face drug-related charges, such as racketeering or distribution of methamphetamine. Zombie drug seen in Cabell Co. Kanawha County man has been missing for 7 years, Man wanted for pointing handgun at person, Some parts of Columbus Zoo are getting upgrades, I-64E reopens after tractor-trailer crash in Cabell, JB McCuskey launches run for West Virginia Governor, Applications open to participate in Hillbilly Days, Waverly man arrested for abducting person with firearm, $409K to be used for affordable housing in WV, The New StormTracker 13 VIPIR Real Time Radar, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. And there are big lines from the first day, said Smith. Kenneth Eversole, 44, was arrested late afternoon Dec. 1, when law enforcement from a multitude of agencies conducted a search-and-seizure warrant on his residence at 197 Mozelle St. in Keyser. $18 million, Antioch, Calif. One California raid in 2014 remains one of the biggest drug busts the U.S. has ever seen. Be Truthful. Report a Closing. One individual charged had been deported in 2014 and reentered the US illegally. The 30-count indictment alleges the operation trafficked large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride from Hagerstown toBerkeley County, West Virginia, between August2020and June of this year, according to a news release from Bernard's office. The name of the pharmacys owner, Samuel R Ballengee PharmD, was displayed on the window under a sales pitch: Its all in the bag.. Sign up to get our statewide obits delivered to your inbox daily. 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. What is xylazine? It was a profound stop and seizure of extremely hard drugs that have plagued this area and others, according to Martinsburg Police Chief George Swartwood. All Rights Reserved. The pharmacist persuaded his assistant at the drugstore, Debra Justice, to set up a medical clinic just outside Kermit and they recruited a doctor more than an hour away at Marshall Universitys medical school, Dr John Tiano. It's playing an increasing role in filling U.S. demand for super-pure meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and other drugs, appearing in at least 35 states, a Courier Journal investigation found,. 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There you go, said Smith. Millions more were shipped to another pharmacy, Hurleys Drug Store, four blocks away. Sign up for local job offers sent to your inbox. Twenty minutes drive to the north, the Sav-Rite Pharmacy in the village of Kermit, population 280 and falling, was outstripping them both. Seized in this stop were 5 ounces of pure Fentanyl, 8 ounces of Crack Cocaine, 1 ounce of Heroin, 13 ounces of Heroin & Fentanyl mix, a 40-caliber handgun and $16,470 in U.S. currency. Updated: Apr 9, 2018 / 11:04 PM EDT. Ratique Wilson, 25, charged with federal counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, aiding and abetting maintaining a drug involved premises, distribution of cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and use of a fire during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense. The alleged co-conspirators purchased and received narcotics from suppliers in Mexico, California, and New York, then smuggled the narcotics to locations in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, according to authorities. . If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. Ballengee and the other drug store owners kept escalating the orders, and the distributors filled them without flinching. The FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Mike Stuart said more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers targeted nearly 100 people for arrests aimed at dismantling a multistate distribution network. Chris Cooper A search warrant lead to the arrest of John Ingram and Christopher Cooper. Were not seeing meth labs here much anymore, he said, to which Bruce added, Fentanyl is the big issue now.. "The origins of the sheriff's department date back to 1850 when this was the Wild West," the sheriff said. You have permission to edit this article. Low 34F. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. Everyone was going along with it.. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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. appreciated. Its things like that you can put in front of a jury and theyre going to go, that aint right. Updated The suspects transported the drugs using hidden traps in privately owned vehicles, semi-trailers, trucks, and recreational vehicles, authorities said. You have different levels of culpability within the investigation, its important to attack it on all levels top to bottom because, ultimately when you have a few misdemeanors sprinkled in, there going to actually help your felony investigations.. Among the agencies involved in Tuesdays arrests were Huntington, state and Marshall University police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the West Virginia National Guard, the FBI and local sheriffs departments. RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Almost 300 lbs. ELKINS, W.Va (WDTV) - Five West Virginians from Gilmer and Grant counties face charges in a drug conspiracy that involved enough fentanyl to kill 20,000 . Huntington is a safer city today, but we continue to be vigilant.. He denied knowing that the clinic was widely spoken about in town as a pill mill. He tells the Panhandle News Network it was a record-breaking seizure. Find out what's happening around the state with this weekly email alert sent every Thursday evening! Marshall University forced Tiano to stop moonlighting at the clinic. In 2017, the West Virginia board of pharmacy dismissed its director for failing to properly regulate the flood of opioids to the states pharmacies and investigate suspicious deliveries. With any luck we have eight years of this stuff so if they dont like it, they can find somewhere else to live.. So the clinic didnt bother to send prescriptions at all and took to the illegal practice of writing lists of names and dosages on sheets of paper and faxing them to the pharmacies. & $600,000 seized in drug bust. JCSO officials say "Operation Centennial Sweep" totaled 113 warrants for drugs involving methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, prescription narcotics, and marijuana. Subscribe today. 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. C in Belpre, and 949 Lancaster St., Marietta. Before long, people in town were calling the Williamson Wellness Center a pill mill. It looked like a carnival, said Smith. MARTINSBURG, W.Va.Police Chief George Swartwood is proud of the men and women of his force every day, but last month, they outdid themselves. 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.. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. racist or sexually-oriented language. But he just got into that other business, and it starts snowballing and greed took over. On Thursday, law enforcement agencies executed the second part of the operation now leaving over 100 people arrested. 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. Error! ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The state's biggest drug bust has resulted in the arrests of more than a dozen people, including the alleged woman ringleader of the $36-million-a-year heroin ring, officials . On one day in August 2016, more than two dozen people in Huntington overdosed on heroin during a five-hour span. Terrence McGuirk, 51, who was jailed after the historic "Project Parkersburg" drug bust, was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. The arrests were part of the Project Huntington initiative Stuart announced on March 15 to involve more federal prosecutors in a crackdown on gun and violent crime and drug trafficking in Huntington. Miguel Angel Santiago Caraballo, 30, of Chambersburg, Pa. The whole thing was a game, a scam. The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Winds light and variable.. Clear skies. No longer will we tolerate this epidemic. Operation Tranquilandia was led by the DEA in 1984. 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. Police say 33-year-old James Martell Frazier, of Cambridge, Maryland, and Seaford, Delaware, was the leader, supervisor, financier and manager of an illegal drug network that spanned multiple . Low near 55F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Ihlenfeld said nine of those charged were already incarcerated. 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. Gross sales surged above $6.5m. Be Nice. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia Air National Guard;U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and U.S. attorney's offices in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Sign up for the only WV Government and Business newsletter delivered each week! The unemployment rate comes in at a scary 11.0%, while even people who find jobs have to make due with a median income of just $36,793. The Page County Sheriff's Office reported narcotics investigators made the largest seizure of methamphetamine in department history. Evening headlines from the Charleston Gazette-Mail, The latest in travel and recreation around West Virginia, The daily opinion newsletter from the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Operation Angels Envy also had a far-reaching impact throughout the DMV. Published June 22, 2021 4:25 a.m. PDT Share TORONTO - Twenty people are facing rafts of charges each and more than $61 million worth of cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana was seized in what. Commander Domenico Napolitano, head of the financial police for the city of Naples, told CNN . The pharmacy bought more of the opioid than any drugstore in West Virginia or neighbouring states that year and ranked 22nd in the nation among retail pharmacies for hydrocodone purchases. Apparently a VERY big Trump and Kyle Rottenhouse(or whatever that stupid kid's name is) Fanboy according to his FB account. They say Operation Angels Envy led to takedowns of seven drug trafficking organizations in the D.C. area, as well as their Los Angeles-based transportation network. 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. Ihlenfeld said with the arrests, the individuals range from small positions in the drug world to high positions. Rattini is accused of distributing narcotic painkillers illegally to more than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. Prosecutors prepared charges against Barnett, but he died before he could be brought to trial. The investigation is ongoing at this time. Reach Joel Ebert at joel.ebert@dailymailwv.com 304-348-4843 or joel.ebert@dailymailwv.com or follow @joelebert29 on Twitter. Participating in the bust were members of the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a Safe Streets/TOC West, and HIDTA-Funded Initiative consisting of the Keyser Police Department, Mineral County Sheriffs Office, Hampshire County Sheriffs Office, West Virginia State Police, DEA and FBI. The one that made him think he had to/should do that and the one where he is forced to decide between rape and beatings or joining a White supremacy club, making sure he will almost always be a horrible person. Doctors wrote the prescriptions. Its pretty much a cartel. There was an error processing your request. In 1991, police officers seized 59 boxes containing 1080 pounds of Heroin, with a street value ranging from $2.7 billion to $4 billion. The longest drug-smuggling tunnel ever was discovered on April 20, 2016, spanning the U.S.-Mexico border. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Barnett, who owned Family Pharmacy, also professed not to know the reputation of the Wellness Center or that it had a list of acceptable pharmacies for patients to fill opioid prescriptions and that his was on it. 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