From staff reports
Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced criminal charges against 30 suspected drug dealers in connection with the shipment and sale of $1.6 million in crystal methamphetamine in Jefferson, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk and Forest Counties over the last year and a half.
The crystal meth was shipped to Jefferson County and the surrounding area through the U.S. mail from drug dealers in Arizona and California. It was then sold throughout north central Pennsylvania by a network of 30 drug dealers. The 35 pounds of crystal meth that they sold – broken up into ¼ and ½ gram doses – produced between 32,000 and 64,000 doses of the drug that were sold in the five counties.
“When drug traffickers from other states target rural Pennsylvania, our agents will be right here to catch them and shut these networks down,” Shapiro said today at a news conference at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Shapiro also commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which worked closely with the Office of Attorney General, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office on the 18-month-long investigation.
Investigators used a series of controlled purchases, court-approved electronic surveillance, package interceptions and other tactics to identify the drug dealers involved.
