By DAVID BERTOLA
dbertola@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1621

In the largest heroin bust in Buffalo history, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last week announced the arrests and unsealing of a 51-count indictment against 15 individuals accused of taking part in a drug distribution network where heroin trafficking originated in the Bronx and was routinely funneled to Buffalo for distribution on city streets.

As part of a multi-agency investigation code-named "Operation Horse Trail," state and local law enforcement agents led by the New York State Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force and New York State Police conducted an 11-month investigation that included undercover operations, hundreds of hours of covert surveillance and wiretaps.

The investigation led to the seizure of more than 7 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of $3.5 million and more than $45,000 in cash. The accused members of the narcotics distribution organization would transport the heroin to Buffalo from the Bronx and stash it in an apartment in Buffalo's Delaware District, where it was prepared for distribution.

The 51-count indictment unsealed in Erie County Supreme Court today charges 15 individuals with crimes including Operating as a Major Trafficker, and various counts of Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class A and B felonies) and conspiracy to commit those crimes. The Operating as a Major Trafficker statute (§220.77(1) of the Penal Law of the State of New York), authored by Attorney General Schneiderman, went into effect last year as part of changes to the Rockefeller-era drug laws and is the only felony narcotics charge in the state that carries a possible life sentence.

The indictment is the culmination of a major investigation led by Attorney General Schneiderman's Organized Crime Task Force and is part of his efforts to combat large-scale narcotics trafficking and related crimes across the state.

Several other agencies assisted in the investigation including: the Community Narcotics Enforcement Teams and Special Investigations Units (SIU) of the New York State Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Department, the City of Buffalo Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol.