COLUMBUS – Four people were arrested yesterday in connection with what federal authorities say was a multi-state drug-smuggling ring that trucked marijuana from Arizona to Columbus via large vehicles, including tractor-trailers.
Damian Edwards, Hopie Dawn Edwards and Theo Lavelle Smith, all of Columbus, and German Alfredo White, of Jacksonville, Fla., were each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana after detectives with the Columbus Division of Police and the Central Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force seized more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana and more than $1.2 million in cash, according to court documents.
Authorities say Edwards, 38, who is a native of Jamaica, was at the center of the operation, which brought marijuana ring to Columbus from Tuscon, Ariz., monthly.
According to court documents, the investigation into the ring began in November when detectives learned that large shipments of marijuana were being imported into Columbus by a male named “Lucky,” later identified as Edwards.
Investigators carrying out surveillance saw the suspects renting and driving large vehicles such as a U-Haul, Dodge Durango and Landstar Ranger semi-tractor trailer and meeting at locations in the Polaris area on the Far Northeast Side before following one another to a nearby hotel, authorities said.
The crimes are punishable by a range of 10 years up to life in prison, and a $10 million fine.
The HIDTA Task Force is operated as part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.