EAST LIVERPOOL — Authorities say 100 people have been charged with hundreds of counts of drug trafficking, including allegations of flooding the state with doses of deadly synthetic opioids.
Two of the suspects are charged with felony assault for allegedly exposing an East Liverpool police officer to a near-fatal dose of fentanyl during a traffic stop in May which Ohio Attoirney General Mike DeWine’s office says was part of the investigation into the drug trafficking ring. Officer CHris Green survived the exposure after being revived with four doses of naloxone.
Investigators allege the drug trafficking ring has operated mainly between Cuyahoga and Columbiana counties in eastern and northeastern Ohio since 2014.
A 756-count indictment against 100 individuals announced Tuesday followed a probe by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Columbiana County Drug Task Force in East Liverpool, known as “Operation Big Oak” — which stands for Breaking Into Gangs/Opiate Addiction Knockdown — according to a release from DeWine’s office.
Defendants are charged with trafficking in cocaine, heroin and smuggling approximately 1 million doses of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and 350,000 doses of carfentanil into Columbiana County.
DeWine’s office says four Cuyahoga County men were the ringleaders who allegedly sold the drugs to 51 accused mid-level traffickers from Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Tuscarawas, and Mahoning counties.
The indictment also named 45 lower-level suspects who allegedly contributed to the actions of the organization.