Thirty-three people have been arrested, including a Monticello school teacher and football coach, in a series of coordinated raids in Port Jervis, New York, Pike County, Pennsylvania and Montague, New Jersey. Three others are wanted in connection with the same massive drug takedown.
Operation Final Blow netted two kilograms of cocaine, 74 grams of heroin, 165 grams of fentanyl, 1,600 ecstasy pills, seven firearms and $153,000 in cash. Also seized were 11 cars, four motorcycles and two ATVs.
A total of 17 search warrants were executed leading to the arrests of 29 men and three women. Two men and one woman remain at large.
The drugs were transported up from the South through New York City, Hoovler said.
Because of New York’s bail reform laws, only six of the 36 suspects have been remanded to jail. The others are back on the streets.
One of the suspects, 42-year-old Wayne Smith, served 10 years of a 20-year prison sentence in Pennsylvania and was back on the street as one of the six major traffickers, said Pike County District Attorney Raymond Tonkin.
Hoovler said since two to four grams of fentanyl can be lethal, there was enough of the drug confiscated to kill between 60,000 and 80,000 people.
Not everyone arrested was a hardcore drug dealer, officials said. Some were business people dealing in the trade, and one person, Hoovler said was considering using some of his drug proceeds to invest in home purchases in Port Jervis.
For a list of the 36 individuals see Mid-Hudson News.com
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