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New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Thursday that two indictments have been unsealed in Bronx County Supreme Court charging 28 co-conspirators with conspiracy, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and other charges in a 181 count indictment.
James said that the investigation - dubbed Operation Oxy-Concourse - led to the seizure of approximately 1,200 oxycodone pills of varying doses. It is believed that the drug ring sold more than 23,000 pills with a street value of more than $2 million.
The investigation was given its name due to the volume of oxycodone sales in and around Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
According to James, during the course of the investigation, conspirators utilized "coded and cryptic terminology in an attempt to disguise their illicit narcotics trafficking, which were recorded on wiretaps."
Prescription pills were called “footballs,” over the wiretap, with references to specific doses of the pills based on their colors. “Yellows”, “pinks” and “blues”, and the milligram dosage, for “15’s”, “20’s”, “30’s” and “big ones”.
The indictment alleges that members of the organization focused on the purchase and resale of prescription oxycodone pills. Conspirators would purchase the pills around New York and then distribute them in other locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and Connecticut.
According to James, the scheme involved the initial source paying $300 each for a doctor visit and the pharmacy for 100 oxycodone tablets, totaling approximately $600. Those sources then resold the pills for around $10 a pill to a collecting manager.
The collecting manager then turned around and sold those pills for approximately $18 to a distributor. The distributor then resold the same pills for $23 per pill to street-level dealers, who then sold them to users for approximately $30 per pill.
James said the average amount of cash transacted from a single 100-tablet prescription was approximately $8,700. Consequently, it is estimated that the street value of the oxycodone sold during this 10-month investigation exceeded $2 million.
“These arrests are significant because they bring attention to an emerging threat – oxycodone trafficking networks,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said. “Oxycodone pills have replaced heroin glassines on the street, and heroin trafficking rings’ new competition are oxycodone distribution organizations.
"This criminal motley crew had the means to distribute nearly two million oxycodone pills annually throughout counties of New York and Connecticut; but as a result of collaborative law enforcement efforts, their operation has been shut down and put out of business.”
“There is zero tolerance for those who flood our communities with dangerous narcotics that claim lives,” James added. “These individuals allegedly made a profit off of prescription drugs and trafficked tens of thousands of highly addictive pills throughout New York City and Westchester.
"In order to combat the opioid crisis that is destroying our communities, we must tackle the issue from every angle and this investigation is our latest effort to take down those who sell these illicit drugs.”
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