Monday, September 20, 1999
$300,000 drug ring busted up, police say
Phoenix man arrested after flying here
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A two-year undercover drug investigation culminated Sunday morning in the arrest of an Arizona man described as a major drug distributor.
The investigation by the regional narcotics unit has resulted in the seizure of 250 pounds of marijuana, worth about $250,000, and 4.5 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $50,000, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said.
The investigation documented the distribution of more than 1,900 pounds of marijuana to Greater Cincinnati in recent years by Phoenix drug traffickers, police said.
Authorities said Luis Ramos Luna was arrested after flying to Cincinnati to receive payment for 65 pounds of marijuana he previously shipped from his Phoenix area home to Greater Cincinnati. Specific charges were unavailable.
Police say many of the shipments involved common carriers, including United Parcel Service, which Mr. Luna allegedly used in the most recent sale.
There was only minimal effort to disguise the content of the packages, police said.
Police “worked their way up,” sheriff's spokesman Stephen Barnett said, adding the investigation included recorded conversations.
Drug investigators often connect with a lower-level suppliers and complete transactions to engender trust, then “work up” to their distributor, then to that person's distributor. That's what led them to Arizona, they said.
Seven others arrested previously in the sting include three Cincinnati men, three other Phoenix men and a Cleveland man. Ages and addresses on the others arrested were unavailable.
One of the Phoenix men, Marc E. O'Bannon, was arrested in February near Toledo by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for his role in the shipment of 137 pounds of marijuana and 4.5 pounds of cocaine from Phoenix to Cincinnati.
When he was arrested, Cincinnati drug investigators were awaiting his arrival here.
While out on bond following his arrest, Mr. O'Bannon was rearrested for allegedly forwarding marijuana to Cincinnati via UPS and other carriers.
He has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, Mr. Barnett said.
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