39 people arrested in NY cocaine-trafficking operation


  • From ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Last Updated: 12:26 PM, December 5, 2012
  • Posted: 12:26 PM, December 5, 2012


SYRACUSE — Authorities say they've arrested more than three dozen people in breaking up a drug trafficking operation that sent millions of dollars of cocaine from the New York City metro area north to upstate communities.

State Attorney General Eric Scheiderman says 39 people have been charged in connection with Wednesday's early morning raids in Cortland, Syracuse and New York City.

Authorities say police seized cocaine worth more than $1 million. Scheiderman says the drug network moved cocaine from downstate to be sold in Cortland, Syracuse and Watertown. Officials say some of the drugs also came from Buffalo.

Of the 39 arrests, 34 were made in Cortland, Syracuse and five other central New York locations.

Officials say the arrests are the result of a nine-month, multi-agency investigation called "Operation Southbound."

39 people arrested in NY cocaine-trafficking operation - NYPOST.com