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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] SWAT teams from Cleveland Police, FBI, Southwest Enforcement Bureau and others, plus US Marshals and ATF, supported the raids.[1] This bust underscores Cleveland's role as a fentanyl hub, linking to central Ohio distribution networks initially flagged by local reports.[1] 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.[2] 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.[2] Drugs and cash shuttled between Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.[2] 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.[4] Lab tests are pending on the 2024 haul, but investigators emphasize the pills' lethality in communities from Cleveland to Columbus.[1]