CLEVELAND - Fourteen members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Northeast Ohio were charged today after a grand jury returned a 38-count indictment, alleging that the defendants participated in a conspiracy that distributed over 5 kilograms of cocaine, over 280 grams of crack cocaine base and fentanyl throughout the area.
Named in the indictment are Montez Miller, 34, of Elyria, Ohio; Mario Hoyle, 32, of Elyria, Ohio; Marlon Hoyle, 30, of Elyria, Ohio; Marque Miller, 28, of Cleveland, Ohio; Theodore Nickoloff, 48, of Elyria, Ohio; Adrian Smith, 32, of Elyria, Ohio; Anthony Lee Smith, 33, of Elyria, Ohio; Mario McCray, 41, of Elyria, Ohio; Madonna Sanchez, 36, of Elyria, Ohio; Alex Perez, 25, of Sheffield Lake, Ohio; Bernard Green, 62, of Elyria, Ohio; Brandon Keith, 32, of Elyria, Ohio; Toquato Knowles, 42, of Elyria, Ohio and Darius Glass, 32, of Elyria, Ohio.
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of controlled substances.
According to the indictment, from February 2019 to August 2022, it is alleged that members of the drug trafficking organization obtained large quantities of cocaine from an unknown supplier, which they then redistributed to the named defendants to be further distributed throughout Northeast Ohio.
The conspirators are also accused of using cell phones and coded language to obscure and disguise their drug trafficking activity.
If convicted, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including prior criminal records, if any, role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violations.
In all cases, sentences will not exceed the statutory maximums, and in most cases, will be less than the maximums.
The investigation was conducted by the Elyria Police Department, with assistance from the FBI Cleveland Division, the Lorain Police Department, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office and the United States Marshals Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Corts and Vasile C. Katsaros.
This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was also investigated as part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.)., an initiative that seeks to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids and to identify wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers in Lorain County.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
