Seventeen people were indicted in federal court Wednesday for their roles in a conspiracy to purchase powder cocaine, cook the drug and then sell it around Medina County.
In addition to the 17 people indicted federally, 12 other people have been charged state court.
According to the indictment, Troy Bankhead, 47, of Cleveland, sold large amounts of powder cocaine to 44-year-old Dona Battle between August 2016 and February 2017.
Battle then cooked the cocaine into crack cocaine at 26799 Royalton Road in Columbia Station, 5651 Columbia Road in Medina and 1406 West 75th Street in Cleveland.
Battle then sold the crack cocaine to several other dealers, including 31-year-old Aaron Watson of Medina, 58-year-old Dale Lind of Medina, 44-year-old Carlos Tripp of Medina, 45-year-old William Battle of Cleveland, 30-year-old Raymel King of Cleveland and 36-year-old Jermaine Tripp of Medina.
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“This organization used homes and apartments to cook crack cocaine, which it sold in and around Medina,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “It was a spoke in a larger organization that trafficked a lot of cocaine. These defendants will now be held accountable for their actions.”
“This investigation was initiated by agents from the Medina County Drug Task Force and Cleveland office of the Drug Enforcement Administration,” said Gary Hubbard, director of the Medina County Drug Task Force. “The intent was to address local drug trafficking issues in the city of Medina with a focus on repeat drug trafficking offenders. The hard work and commitment by all of the agents involved resulted in one of the largest drug trafficking investigations and narcotics seizures in Medina County history. This investigation lead to the seizure of the 17 kilos of cocaine, six ounces of heroin and over $500,000 in U.S. currency that was first reported in February 2017. The success of this case was made possible by the longstanding partnerships between the Medina County Drug Task Force, DEA, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the many other law enforcement agencies involved.”
