Cleveland Police Seize 143 Pounds of Fentanyl in Massive Bust

CLEVELAND — On May 14, 2024, the Cartel Gang Narcotics & Laundering Task Force, spearheaded by the Cleveland Division of Police and FBI, executed simultaneous search and arrest warrants across Cleveland's Second, Third and Fifth Districts, plus Highland Heights and Westlake. The six-month probe yielded 65 kilograms — about 143 pounds — of suspected fentanyl in pills and powder, equivalent to nearly 600,000 counterfeit oxycodone Blue-M30 pills with a street value of $9.5 million. Authorities also seized three pistols, two rifles, a pill press machine and trafficking evidence, with two men ages 40 and 43 arrested on federal warrants.

The CGNL Task Force collaborated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and Cleveland’s OCDETF Strike Force. SWAT teams from Cleveland Police, FBI, Southwest Enforcement Bureau and others, plus US Marshals and ATF, supported the raids. This bust underscores Cleveland's role as a fentanyl hub, linking to central Ohio distribution networks initially flagged by local reports.

In a related federal case, 11 defendants from Greater Cleveland, including operations in Euclid, face charges for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone from August 2023 to April 2024. Named suspects include Dionte Dykes, 31, aka "Dots," charged with fentanyl and cocaine distribution plus firearm possession; Javian Hearns, 34, aka "Skeens"; Clarence Jackson, 33, aka "Cino"; Akia Bailey, 32, aka "Ky Free"; and Raveona Carter, 30, of Detroit. Drugs and cash shuttled between Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Ohio's opioid epidemic persists, with fentanyl fueling overdoses across Cuyahoga County and beyond. Parallel efforts, like a May 2025 Cuyahoga Sheriff's bust seizing 28 pounds of meth and fentanyl, highlight ongoing threats to Cleveland's west side neighborhoods. Lab tests are pending on the 2024 haul, but investigators emphasize the pills' lethality in communities from Cleveland to Columbus.