Drug trafficking ring arrests nab 2 from Oneida

SYRACUSE, N.Y.>> Two Oneida City men are among 52 people charged in two separate indictments regarding the operation of a drug trafficking ring that transported heroin and cocaine throughout Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Cortland, and St. Lawrence counties.

Antwan Lockhart, 31, is charged with operating as a major drug trafficker, first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, and thirddegree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to an Onondaga County Court indictment issued following a nearly year-long investigation led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the Syracuse Police Department.

Lockhart is accused of directing others in the preparation of narcotics for further distribution and having others transport narcotics to the City of Syracuse. On Dec. 5, 2016, Lockhart and two others are accused of having more than a kilogram of cocaine in their possession.

Faniel Denis, 35, of Oneida, New York and Miami, Fla., was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Within the 150 page indictment, it was revealed that Denis met with another person in the

City of Oneida to conduct a narcotics sale on Nov. 19, 2016.

During the course of the 12-month investigation, authorities seized:

•more than two kilograms of cocaine;

•1,128 envelopes of heroin and more than 20 grams of loose heroin;

•9mm Lorcin handgun, loaded and with the serial number obliterated (through ballistics testing, this gun was linked to 13 incidents in Syracuse from 2015 to 2016);

•.40 caliber Glock handgun, loadedwith a 30-round magazine;

•9mm Sig Sauer hand- gun, loadedwith a 15-round magazine;

•.45 caliber Taurus handgun, loaded; •12-gauge shotgun; •drug paraphernalia, including scales, packaging and cutting agents; •$3,657; •and ecstasy pills and psychedelic mushrooms.

In total, the two separate indictments charge the 52 individuals with 370 crimes, including operating as a major trafficker, and various counts of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance (class A and B felonies), and conspiracy to commit those crimes. The operating as a major trafficker statute (§220.77 of the Penal Law of the State of New York), authored by Attorney General Eric Schneidermanwhen hewas a state senator, went into effect in November 2009, as part of reforms to the Rockefellerera drug laws. It is the only felony narcotics charge in the state that carries a possible life sentence.

“These arrests send an unmistakable message: dealing death and violence in our communities will not be tolerated – and we will bring you to justice,” said Schneiderman. “Together with last summer’s Operation Smackdown – one of the biggest drug busts in Syracuse history – we’ve taken more than 120 violent drug dealers off the streets of Syracuse, making a major dent in the violent drug gangs plaguing the city. With heroin-related deaths on the rise in our communities, we are committed to partnering with local law enforcement to tackle the crisis.”

The indictments are the result of the Attorney General’s and Syracuse Police Department’s joint investigation, “Operation Bricktown.” The defendants were arrested in a series of raids in the Syracuse area, as well as in Oswego, Cortland, Monroe, andMadison Counties and the states of Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

Approximately 30 individuals indicted Thursday are alleged to be members of the Bricktown Gang, said to be responsible for a significant amount of violence and drugs on Syracuse streets. The remaining individuals indicted include both alleged narcotics suppliers and customers who are resellers, as well as alleged members of a rival gang.

“The Syracuse Police Department enjoys a great relationship with all state, local and federal agencies, and will work with them as a team to stop people intending to do harm to our community,” said Syracuse Chief of Police Frank L. Fowler.

Syracuse, like a number of suburban and upstate communities, has seen a surge in heroin-related deaths in recent years. According to a Rockefeller Institute for Government report, overall deaths from drug overdoses and chronic drug abuse in New York increased 71 percent between 2010 and 2015. Operation Brickdown is the first takedown Schneiderman’s Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (“S.U.R.G.E”) Initiative, a multi-pronged effort to target gangs and individuals who deal heroin and commit acts of violence in suburban and upstate communities across New York State.

“Operation Bricktown has been a successful effort to get dangerous gangs off our streets. Our policing efforts, combined with sophisticated data and new technology, are making Syracuse a safer city,” said Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner. “I appreciate the efforts of the men and women of the Syracuse Police Department and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who made this operation possible.”

These arrests follow last summer’s Operation Smackdown, which took another 72 violent alleged drug dealers off the streets of Syracuse.