New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the indictment of 17 people for their roles in a major drug trafficking network that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine in Onondaga, Oneida, Madison, Cortland, and Tompkins counties. An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) seized more than 23 pounds of fentanyl worth more than $625,000 – OCTF’s largest single seizure of fentanyl powder, nearly four pounds of cocaine worth more than $125,000, and more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $32,000. 23 pounds of fentanyl is enough to kill one New Yorker every six seconds for an entire year. The investigation also seized more than $880,000 in cash tied to the drug trafficking, as well as three illegal firearms, and two vehicles used to transport and distribute the drugs. The indictment unsealed today in Onondaga County Court charges the 17 defendants with 125 crimes.  

“Traffickers who flood our communities with fentanyl and other drugs are threatening the important progress New York has made in reducing overdoses and fighting the opioid crisis,” said Attorney General James. “Thanks to the hard work of this investigation and our law enforcement partners, we took more than five million deadly doses of fentanyl off our streets. I will continue to use every resource at my disposal to put an end to these destructive drug trafficking rings and keep New Yorkers safe from dangerous narcotics.”