Seizes 7 Kilograms of Cocaine, 70 Grams of Heroin, 120 Grams of Fentanyl, Dozens of Narcotic Pills
New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the indictment of individuals involved in a drug trafficking ring operating in Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Warren Counties, and was sourced by New York City dealers. The network of dealers was distributing heroin laced with fentanyl, and in some cases straight fentanyl that they were calling heroin, as well as powder and crack cocaine and illegal prescription pills. The 303-count indictment was unsealed today in Saratoga County Supreme Court.
“We will pursue and prosecute all those who peddle illicit drugs and put New Yorkers in harm’s way for personal profit,” said Attorney General James. “Communities across New York are safer today for having shut down this vast network of distributors and traffickers of illicit drugs. My office will remain vigilant about bringing these offenders to justice, and we are grateful to our other partners in law enforcement for their assistance.”
“Drug dealers do not limit their illegal activities to specific jurisdictions, and we have shown by this collaborative effort that law enforcement will rise to the challenge and protect our communities,” said City of Saratoga Springs Police Chief Shane Crooks. “This investigation is the direct result of the hard work done by members of the various agencies involved and shows just how effective law enforcement can be when working together.”
Today’s takedown is the latest in the Attorney General’s Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (S.U.R.G.E.) Initiative to root out violent drug trafficking. Since launching in 2017, SURGE has taken 554 alleged traffickers off the streets.
The multi-agency investigation, code-named “Operation Red Dawn," brought together the resources of state and local law enforcement agencies led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), including the City of Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the Schenectady Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police. The year-long investigation included covert surveillance and hundreds of hours of wiretaps over more than two dozen target phones, aimed at rooting out heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine dealers operating in the Capital region and elsewhere in New York state. This investigation led to the recovery of approximately 7 kilograms of cocaine, 70 grams of heroin, 120 grams of fentanyl, dozens of narcotic pills, and the seizure of $40,000.
Central figures in this narcotics distribution network were Lacy “Red” Enous and Deborah Latalladi, who often partnered together to obtain and sell heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine in Saratoga County. As alleged in the indictment, the investigation revealed that Latalladi had eight different sources of supply for the narcotics and/or prescription pills that she sold to a network of customers who travelled to her from around the Capital region; Enous had customers based in Saratoga, Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady Counties.
As a major cocaine source of supply to this narcotics operation, Donald Thomas and Sharrod Thorton operated a stash location at 178th Street in the Bronx, from which they sold multiple kilograms of cocaine. Three kilograms of cocaine were seized from Shawn Delmore, one of Thomas and Thorton’s main narcotics customers. A search warrant executed at the stash location in the Bronx yielded four kilograms of cocaine with a potential street value of $240,000. Thomas, Thorton and Delmore were charged in this indictment with Operating as a Major Trafficker and related crimes.
The indictment contains 303 counts, charging the defendants with crimes in relation to their involvement in the narcotics trafficking operation, including Operating as a Major Trafficker, and 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 (class B felony).
Those charged in today’s indictment include:
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The Office of the Attorney General wishes to thank the members of the City of Saratoga Springs Police Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the Schenectady Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police for their partnership in this investigation.
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