A Niagara Falls man is among 17 people charged after an investigation led by the state Attorney General’s Office dismantled a drug-trafficking ring that distributed large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin across Western New York and Puerto Rico.
The state AG’s Organized Crime Task Force recovered more than 10 kilograms of cocaine worth approximately $500,000 and about 250 grams of fentanyl and heroin worth an estimated $12,500. The investigation found that the narcotics were allegedly shipped from Puerto Rico to Western New York, where defendants distributed the drugs to resellers who sold them across the region. 17 individuals were charged with 117 crimes for their roles in the drug trafficking operation, which was active in Niagara, Erie, Monroe and Onondaga counties.
The investigation began in September 2024 and originally focused on narcotics trafficking on the lower west side of Buffalo. The investigation revealed that four men were supplying cocaine to resellers in Western New York. Sources from Puerto Rico mailed the defendants the narcotics in custom boxes that each contained two-kilogram bricks and were shipped to various addresses in the region. The defendants would then process the narcotics for resale and sell to resellers and users across Western New York. Resellers were contacted via audio and text messages to coordinate meeting locations, which included a barbershop in Cheektowaga and local restaurants in Buffalo. In messages with resellers, the defendants used codewords to describe the drugs including, “soft” for powder cocaine and “F” to describe fentanyl.
Eleven individuals from across Western New York were charged for their roles as resellers in the drug trafficking operation. The defendants would pick up the shipments from the agreed pick-up locations and prepare the narcotics for resale. Preparations often included repacking a kilogram brick of cocaine into smaller packages of various weights.
Edward Parmer, 48, of Niagara Falls, was charged as a reseller in the operation.
Approximately eight kilograms of cocaine were seized from packages mailed to various locations in Western New York. Three packages mailed from Puerto Rico that contained six kilograms of cocaine were seized by the United States Postal Inspectors in Onondaga County, and two kilograms were seized at a traffic stop in Erie County. In addition to those eight kilograms, two additional kilograms of cocaine were seized from a second traffic stop in Erie County, and approximately 250 grams of fentanyl and heroin were seized as part of the investigation.
“My office continues to dismantle dangerous drug trafficking rings across our state, taking deadly amounts of fentanyl and other drugs off our streets,” Attorney General James said. “Today’s takedown should remind all New Yorkers that we will stop at nothing to protect our communities from life-threatening drugs. I thank my partners in law enforcement for their continued work to keep New Yorkers safe.”
The 117-count indictment unsealed today in Erie County Court charges the defendants with crimes for their involvement in the narcotics trafficking operation, including various counts of Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class A, B, C, D felonies) as well as second-degree conspiracy (a class B felony).