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An investigation into an international drug ring culminated in 54 arrests across the country, including eight in Rochester, law enforcement officials announced Monday.
Those from Rochester were arrested Monday morning and charged with consipiracy to import and sell methylone, U.S. Attorney William Hochul said at a news conference. Arrests also came in Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Kazakhstan and other countries.
The arrests Monday came a month after investigators intercepted an email from a drug-manufacturing company in China to Joshua Buerman, who authorities said is considered the leader of the local drug ring. Further investigation led law enforcement to the others defendants.
The packages recovered in August contained 3.5 kilograms of methylone crystals.
The local defendants were arraigned in federal court Monday afternoon and face up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Investigators said the group had been under investigation for about 15 months and was responsible for moving about two kilograms of the drug per month in the Rochester area.
Arrested were: Buerman, 25; Michele Hess, 21; Kevin Willard, 21; Andrew Bosch, 28; Madhu Ashok, 21, Lance Minielly, 23, Jesse James Macaveny, 20, and Rita Levy Panzica, 18, all of Rochester.
“This international investigation shows one path by which massive quantities of synthetic drugs can enter our communities,” Hochul said. “Both law enforcement and the public must continue to be vigilant as we together work towards keeping this and like substances — which can be deadly — out of the area.”
Methylone is also known as Molly, the drug involved in a fatal overdose of a Rochester area man at a New York City music festival recently. Investigators do not believe there was any connection to the local operation and the death of Jeffrey Russ of Greece, who died of an overdose at the Electric Zoo Festival on Randalls Island during Labor Day weekend.
But Russ’ death does illustrate the danger of these types of drugs, which are responsible for a 300 percent increase in calls to poison centers across the country, said Brian Crowell, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
“Kids need to know they are not taking ecstasy,” Crowell said. “We are seeing street dealers selling something with a catchy name such as Molly, and in fact it’s poisonous synthetic chemicals made in labs in China.
“Overdoses from ingesting these types of chemicals are extremely dangerous and unforgiving,” Crowell said.
More than 74 kilograms of the drug were recovered as part of what officials are calling Operation Walking Dead.
The drugs are made in China where making such substances is legal and imported, often as easily as sending it through the U.S. mail.
“Using these drugs is Russian roulette,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Gregory.
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