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U.S. Attorney announces 12 arrests in large marijuana distribution operation

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that a dozen people have been charged in a marijuana conspiracy operation.

The 12 people range in age  from 20 to 62, and officials say the marijuana distribution organization has been operating in the Rochester area since 2014.

Authorities say police used search warrants to look through nine locations and seized over 130 pounds of pot, along with more than $180,000 in money orders and four vehicles that were used in the trafficking of the the drug.

Since August of 2015, officials say more than a thousand parcels containing marijuana were mailed from California to people involved with the operation in Rochester.

“This drug organization, like others we are seeing with increasing frequency, sought to flood the market through a steady drip, drip, drip of relatively small packages of drugs being shipped into our community,” said U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “Today, that spigot finally got turned-off. Whether its marijuana or deadly fentanyl, this Office, together with our partners in law enforcement will do all that we can to stem the flow of illegal substances into our area.” 

Ten of the 12 defendants made an initial appearance in federal court. One person is being held while the other 9 were released on conditions. Two other suspects were arrested in Atlanta and will be returned to  this area at a later date.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.