Following the surveillance of a Butler Twp. hotel, four men were arrested and face conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, a count that carries with it a minimum 10-year sentence with conviction.
Observations made by the Miami Valley Bulk Smuggling Task Force of activities on and near the hotel led to a consented search and retrieval of 50 pounds of marijuana in the garage, nine bricks of fentanyl and U.S. currency in “bands” or “stacks” in a closet.
A federal prosecutor said additional charges could be added to the 10-year minimum that all four men face. Detention hearings are scheduled for Monday.
This bust, which was reportedly linked to Mexican cartel activity, is the latest in the Miami Valley.
Here are four more notable stings that have occurred in the Dayton-area within past year:
Drug crackdown sting on Main Street
March 2018 — A major crackdown was carried out with connections to drug deals along North Main Street in Dayton and into other parts of the county.
One of the goals of the operation is to cut down on the drug-dealing that affects both sides of Main Street, officials said. Locations that were raided included a home off Gettysburg Avenue near Hoover Avenue, an apartment in the 4300 block of Old Riverside Drive and a home on Old Riverside Drive.
Montgomery County cocaine and heroin bust
February 2018 — Officials seized more than 50 pounds of cocaine and 1,100 grams of heroin. An undisclosed amount of cash and guns were also confiscated.
The seizures and arrests were the culmination of an 11-month investigation into a drug trafficking operation in and around Dayton, said Montgomery County Sheriff, Phil Plummer during a news conference.
The bust involved two operations carried out on two separate days— one resulting in the arrest of two men who had been selling large amounts of meth, heroin, cocaine and marijuana throughout the Miami Valley and another with the arrest of four people in possession of 20 pounds of cocaine.
Major carfentanil raid following investigation
August 2017 — A sting that occurred in August 2017 was significant due to the potential harm that could have come from a large quantity of carfentanil seized from a home in the 4500 block of Queens Avenue in Dayton, officials said. Detectives found approximately nine ounces of carfentanil, two handguns and about $20,000 cash, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Carfentanil is a synthetic narcotic produced from morphine. It is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and had led to hospitalizations for police and paramedics who had come into contact with it while responding to overdose patients.
“A seizure of this quantity of carfentanil has the potential of saving hundreds of lives,” Plummer in a news release.
Dayton police arrest five in Dayton home raid
July 2017 — Five people were arrested in Dayton when neighbors complained about drug use and sales occurring at the suspected residence.
Sgt. John Sillivan from the Dayton Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit said the tips allowed police to get the search warrant that led to the seizure of a large amount of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.