Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced the takedown of a major drug trafficking ring that distributed large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin across Western New York and Puerto Rico.
An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) recovered more than 10 kilograms of cocaine worth approximately $500,000, and about 250 grams of fentanyl and heroin worth an estimated $12,500.
The investigation found that the narcotics were allegedly shipped from Puerto Rico to Western New York, where defendants distributed the drugs to resellers who sold them across the region. 17 individuals were charged with 117 crimes for their roles in the drug trafficking operation, which was active in Erie, Monroe, Niagara, and Onondaga Counties, as well as Puerto Rico.
“My office continues to dismantle dangerous drug trafficking rings across our state, taking deadly amounts of fentanyl and other drugs off our streets,” said James in a statement on Thursday. “Today’s takedown should remind all New Yorkers that we will stop at nothing to protect our communities from life-threatening drugs. I thank my partners in law enforcement for their continued work to keep New Yorkers safe.”
The OAG’s investigation began in September 2024 and originally focused on narcotics trafficking on the lower West Side of Buffalo. The investigation revealed that Oscar Romero, Victor Quinones, Hector Oquendo, and Raymond Pizarro Rivera were supplying cocaine to resellers in Western New York.
Sources from Puerto Rico allegedly mailed the defendants the narcotics in custom boxes that each contained two-kilogram bricks and were shipped to various addresses in the region. The defendants would then process the narcotics for resale and sell to resellers and users across Western New York.
Resellers were contacted via audio and text messages to coordinate meeting locations, which included a barbershop in Cheektowaga and local restaurants in Buffalo. In messages with resellers, the defendants used codewords to describe the drugs including, “soft” for powder cocaine and “F” to describe fentanyl.
11 individuals from across Western New York were charged for their roles as resellers in the drug trafficking operation. These defendants would pick up the shipments from the agreed pick-up locations and prepare the narcotics for resale. Preparations often included repacking a kilogram brick of cocaine into smaller packages of various weights.
Approximately eight kilograms of cocaine were seized from packages mailed to various locations in Western New York. Three packages mailed from Puerto Rico that contained six kilograms of cocaine were seized by the United States Postal Inspectors in Onondaga County, and two kilograms were seized at a traffic stop in Erie County.
In addition to those eight kilograms, two additional kilograms of cocaine were seized from a second traffic stop in Erie County, and approximately 250 grams of fentanyl and heroin were seized as part of the investigation.
The investigation was led by OCTF in partnership with the New York State Police (NYSP), as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including NYSP Troop A Violent Gang Narcotics Enforcement Team (VGNET), NYSP Special Investigations Unit Buffalo (SIU), the United States Postal Inspectors (USPI), U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Erie County Crime Analysis Center (ECAC), and the U.S. Marshals. The year-long investigation included covert surveillance and hundreds of hours of wiretaps of more than two dozen target phones, aimed at rooting out fentanyl and cocaine dealers operating in Western New York and Puerto Rico.
The 117-count indictment unsealed Thursday in Erie County Court charges the defendants with crimes for their involvement in the narcotics trafficking operation, including various counts of Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class A, B, C, D felonies) as well as Conspiracy in the Second Degree (a class B felony).
The following individuals were charged:
- Erik Arias, 33, of Buffalo
- Richard Calderon Cruz, AKA Richard Calderon, AKA Richard Cruz, 41, of Cheektowaga
- Jesus Oliveras Feliciano, AKA Jesus Oliveras Felician, 37, of Buffalo
- Luis Galarza, Jr., 40, of Buffalo
- Shirley Lopez, 49, of Buffalo
- Edwin Maldonado, 59, of Lackawanna
- A. Cesari McDougall, 54, of Buffalo
- Arami Morales, 30, of Rochester
- Wilfredo Morales, 64, of Buffalo
- Angel Oquendo, AKA Angel Alejandro Oquendo AKA Angel Alejandrooquendo, 48, of Puerto Rico
- Hector Oquendo, AKA Hector Alejandro Oquendo AKA Hector Alejandrooquendo, 56, of Buffalo
- Edward Parmer, 48, of Niagara Falls
- Luis Pumarejo, 44, of Buffalo
- Victor Quinones, 50, of Buffalo
- Raymond Pizarro Rivera, 28, last known address is in Buffalo
- Oscar Romero, 46, of Buffalo, NY
- Justino Santos, 40, of Buffalo, NY
Quinones and Galarza, Jr.’s distribution operation resulted in, among other charges, the charge of Operating as a Major Trafficker, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The New York Attorney General's Office says a cocaine and fentanyl ring stretched from Western New York to Puerto Rico
The New York Attorney General's Office says a cocaine and fentanyl ring stretched from Western New York to Puerto Rico
