A federal grand jury has returned indictments against 20 individuals involved in a Houston-to-Buffalo drug operations that allegedly brought several kilos of cocaine to Buffalo's streets.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says a Houston man, 50-year-old Earl Brown, Sr., supplied narcotics to 30-year-old Franklin Richards, who then distributed them to the notoriously violent L.R.G.P. street gang. The gang's members sold the drug, in both powder and crack cocaine form, in Buffalo's Broadway/Fillmore neighborhood.
Federal agents seized nearly $220,000 in the course of the investigation, along with five handguns.
The defendants, who range in age from 19 to 50, face prison terms of 10 years-to-life in prison, if convicted, and fines of up to $10 million. All are charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.