The Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, GRANET, says nine defendants out of ten indicted pled guilty to a host of narcotics charges after a six-month investigation.
More than 17-and-a-half pounds of cocaine and about a pound of heroin were seized by police from the people and places searched during the investigation. They also seized more than $200,000, five illegal guns, lots of drug packaging equipment, thousands of forged tax stamps and more than 2,700 packs of untaxed cigarettes.
One of the defendants will go on trial for drug dealing charges next week. Of the nine who pled guilty, three have already been sentenced to prison time. The others are awaiting sentencing. One is an illegal alien who will be deported after serving a year in the Monroe County Jail.
An 11th arrest was made because of this investigation, in connection with the fake tax stamps. Ramez Alsafadi pled guilty to possession of a forged instrument and will be sentenced to five years’ probation and to pay $14,000 restitution.