Pubdate: Sun, 13 Mar 2016
Source: Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Copyright: 2016 Morning Journal
Contact:  http://www.morningjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3569

KEEP THE DRUG ARRESTS COMING

This week's arrests of nine alleged high-level drug dealers in Lorain 
and Elyria sends a clear message that law enforcement agencies in 
these cities are once again fed up with peddlers selling this poison 
on our streets.

It's also a message most of us should agree with that enough is enough.

Five deaths in the last two weeks from drug overdoses is too much for 
this community. One death is too many.

Authorities say there is no connection between the recent overdose 
deaths and the arrests in Lorain and Elyria.

Do these drug dealers have a conscience knowing that the drugs they 
are selling to people have harmful, sometimes deadly effects? Do the 
traffickers even care? Some may, some may not. The drug dealers are 
doing it for the money, to get rich quick, for status and prestige.

But what about the people using this stuff, who've lost jobs and 
their families because of the drug addiction?

On March 10, members of Lorain and Elyria police departments 
discussed at a news conference the details of a joint drug raid 
conducted two days earlier by the Elyria and Lorain narcotics units.

The four-month long investigation resulted in the nine arrests. 
Police confiscated more than $300,000 worth of drugs - including 435 
grams of heroin, 1,020 grams of cocaine and 7 pounds of marijuana - 
as well as six vehicles, three ATV's, $83,445 in cash and six 
handguns that were reported stolen.

Elyria police Chief Duane Whitely, Lorain police Capt. Roger Watkins, 
Lorain Detective Chris Colon and Elyria Sgt. James Welsh took part in 
the news conference.

The Lorain County Crime Lab, the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office, 
the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the state attorney 
general's office also had a role in the investigation.

Each defendant was charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt 
activity, which is a second-degree felony that carries a minimum 
sentence of 11 years in prison. They all have $1 million bonds, which 
highlights the seriousness of this operation.

Investigators are still searching for other suspects related to the 
two drug trafficking organizations.

Pointing to the suspects on a placard, Colon said, "These gentlemen 
on the board here are not your corner street dealers. We've been 
aware of them for a while. But it takes time to get high-level drug 
traffickers off the streets, and that's why it takes three to four 
months of working the investigation to get to this point."

All five search warrants were executed at the same time and the 
operation went as perfectly as planned.

Everyone on the list was targeted by the Lorain or Elyria narcotics 
unit at one time or another and this group sold drugs in both cities, 
Welsh said.

Drugs have no boundaries, and the departments vowed to continue to 
align and work together to try and keep these people off the streets.

In the last two years, the two departments have collaborated in three 
major drug investigations and each was equally as successful.

The alleged ringleaders of this latest drug trafficking operations 
are Hugo Lopez, 45, who's originally from Florida and was arrested by 
U.S. marshals in that state. Rafael Esquilin, 34, of Lorain, is the 
other leader, police said.

Whitely commended the investigation saying officers did a great job.

Said Whitely: "They're often times up to 20 hours a day and the 
officers that work this put in tireless hours to get this done at 
difficult times, I'm sure. They worked very well together and the 
outcome kind of speaks for itself."

The investigation and the recent overdose deaths apparently were on 
the minds of the officers involved.

Said Welsh: "Obviously, these drugs affect all walks of life, and 
right now, we see a lot of it hitting people in their late teens and 
early 20s. It takes a toll on the families of the victims involved. 
Obviously, it's one of the reasons that we put so much time, effort 
and resources into the drug problem is because of how it affects society."

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine chimed in on the Lorain-Elyria 
investigation and released a message denouncing the drug dealers and 
commending the officers.

DeWine wrote, "Drug addiction is a devastating, and often deadly, 
problem in Ohio, and I'm pleased that my office's Heroin Unit was 
able to assist local investigators in this very important 
investigation. Drug trafficking investigations can be very complex, 
and I created the Heroin Unit specifically to help law enforcement 
target drug traffickers who are believed to be bringing deadly drugs 
into our communities."

It appears the recent drug operations will put a dent into the 
illegal drugs on our streets for a while.

But we also know that someone is going to pickup the slack and move 
their operation in to continue poisoning our people and helping to 
destroy families.

At the same time, we're confident that the Lorain and Elyria police 
agencies will use their resources to again slow the drug rings.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom