Nineteen people, including eight from metro Detroit, were arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury in what a U.S. attorney announced Thursday was a potentially lethal, large-scale drug ring moving fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and oxycodone.
The multistate network, feds said, was run by criminals who brazenly drove drugs across the country and, in many cases, had criminal histories.
The news, which came with the unsealing of the federal indictment and a related search warrant, gives a peek into how drugs are being trafficked throughout the Midwest, and underscores the prevalence of drug deaths in America, with more than 100,000 a year.
"This conspiracy involved a tight-knit network of family and friends," said Eric Olshan, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He added that, going back to August 2023, the defendants trafficked "large quantities of lethal narcotics."
The announcement also coincided with President Joe Biden's push earlier this week to crack down onfentanyl trafficking, proposing to Congress a new drug classification for fentanyl-related substances, which would result in tougher penalties for traffickers
The feds identified all 19 of the defendants, whose ages range from 24 to 61, and reside in communities in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Conspiracy to distribute drugs
The drug trafficking organization, agents said, was based in Detroit and New Castle, Pennsylvania, and responsible for the acquisition of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, some in the form of crack, the indictment and court records said.
New Castle — near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border — is about 20 miles southeast of Youngstown and 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The city has a population of about 20,000 and boasts on its website that it's "a close visit from just about anywhere!"
At one time, manufacturing plants that made, among other things, tin plates, fine ceramics, and fireworks thrived in the city, in part, because it was close to a canal ― and later the railroad. It's now also home to service and office jobs.
At the same time, Detroit, the National Drug Intelligence Center points out, is a centrally located city between "major drug markets in Chicago and New York" that also is close to Canada, allowing traffickers to transport drugs over the international border.
The 19 defendants, the U.S. attorney's announcement said, were charged with conspiring to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, at least 5 kilograms of cocaine, 400 grams of fentanyl, 100 grams of heroin and oxycodone.
If convicted, each faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of up to life in prison and a $10 million fine.
Fentanyl, a nationwide killer
Fentanyl, a lab-made opioid used by medical professions to treat acute pain, has become a killer nationwide, especially as it is laced with other drugs. It is, experts say, relatively easy to make, 100 times stronger than morphine — and lethal in even small doses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation’s public health agency, in May estimated that overdose deaths had declined by about 3% in 2023, down from 2022 for the first time since 2018, but also concluded deaths from cocaine and psychostimulants, like methamphetamine, had increased.
More:CDC: 2022 national overdose deaths hit new record; decline in Michigan
The search warrant affidavit that was unsealed showed that in March, one of the group’s leaders, Christian Frierson, was arrested after a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Omaha, Nebraska.
The 33-year-old Detroiter was headed east from California, authorities said.
When he was stopped, the U.S. attorney’s announcement added, police found a safe that contained more than 1,000 grams of fentanyl and nearly 250 grams of heroin. Police released Frierson, who was charged with drug crimes in Nebraska, on bond.
He then, the announcement said, "promptly resumed his large-scale drug trafficking activities."
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Piecing together the case
Investigators pieced together the case using confidential sources, informants and surveillance evidence, according to the arrest affidavit.
They also analyzed phone records, drug purchases, and court-authorized wiretaps going back to May.
The wiretaps and phone text messages, the affidavit said, revealed that some members of the drug group had been recruited to work in “trap houses,” a name for places where drugs were processed and distributed, in New Castle.
In addition to Frierson, the feds named the the other defendants from Michigan: Patrick Brown, 32; Tyrone Davis, 35; Dedric Higginbotham, 55; Quinten Jones, 38; Jermaine Lett, 52, all of Detroit; Roy Brown, 55, of Westland, and Devail Adams, 54, of Oak Park.
Frank Christian, 51, is from Youngstown, Ohio, and the others, all of New Castle, were: Christopher Barton, 24; Edward Dietrich, 59; Alexis Donnell, 29; Kiara Jones, 24; Kenneth King, 37; Marcus Mason, 32; Daniel Rasnick, 27; Kendra Sager, 32; Jauan Searcy, 42, and George Wyatt, 61.
Biden, USA Today reported, signed a memorandum Wednesday directing agencies to double down on efforts to disrupt the supply chain of illegal fentanyl and other synthetic opioids through increased information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Thursday, law enforcement agents involved with the drug case praised inter-agency cooperation, crediting, among many groups, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Michigan State Police, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska — and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Kevin Rojek, the FBI agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said the joint operation shows how agencies work together to keep "this poison out of communities everywhere." He added: "The message to those who want to peddle illegal drugs and guns is clear: We will not stand idle while our neighborhoods are held hostage by crime."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
