CLEVELAND — Eight individuals were charged for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed at least 10 kilograms of cocaine and other drugs in the Lorain, Elyria and Cleveland areas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the charges, Fernando Talavera, 42, or Parma Heights, and Harlan Page, 29, of Westlake, worked together from January 2019 until September 2020 to traffic cocaine into the Elyria, Lorain and Cleveland areas.
Separately, Prince Brown, 35, and Mohammad Hamid, 33, of Avon Lake, conspired together to supply cocaine and heroin to other narcotics traffickers in their network, authorities said.
Page has been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine while Talavera received the same charges while also being charged as a felon in possession of a firearm.
Hamid, Brown (who is currently incarcerated), 27-year-old Robert Starr of Lorain, 37-year-old Amos Jackson of Elyria, Darian Lopez of Lorain and 26-year-old Devon Grantham of Elyria have all been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute. They have also been charged with use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Starr was charged with two counts of distribution of cocaine and Brown was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, as well as receiving a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge.
On Jan. 28, law enforcement agents with the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force assisted the Drug Enforcement Administration in apprehending the defendants.
Of the eight charged, seven have been arrested and one, Hamid, remains a fugitive, authorities said.
The arrests are part of an earlier investigation into drug trafficking in Lorain County.
The matter was investigated by the DEA, Lorain County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), City of Lorain Police Department and City of Elyria Police Department.
