PLATTSBURGH — A lengthy multi-agency investigation has led to the arrests of four people involved in an alleged international OxyContin smuggling ring.
The bust has been in the works for several months after members of the Adirondack Drug Task Force and Clinton County District Attorney's Office developed information about the illegal distribution of OxyContin between Canada and the United States, via the St. Regis Mohawk reservation.
Ultimately the probe grew to the federal level, also encompassing members of the Franklin County Narcotics and Border Protection Task Force.
The collaborative effort recently led to the arrests of Shane Dustin, 20, of Fort Covington; Neal Lauzon, 27, of Plattsburgh; Donna Lazore, 31, of Ontario; and Nathan Benedict, 31, of Ontario.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Richard Hartunian said Friday that each defendant is charged with conspiring to possess and to distribute oxycodone in violation of federal law.
The federal indictments against the four, which initiated their arrests, accuse Lazore and Benedict of supplying the highly addictive drug and Dustin and Lauzon of distributing the pills on the reservation and across the northern region.
Their arrests were announced Friday during a news conference detailing the growing problem of OxyContin abuse in the North Country.
Hartunian, said, "The diversion and abuse of OxyContin has become a very significant problem in both the United States and Canada, particularly here in the North Country."
With more than a dozen agencies working to combat the illegal sales, Hartunian said officials "also need community support, education and prevention efforts, and the cooperation of drug companies, doctors and pharmacies, to ensure that oxycodone goes only to those who need it for legitimate medical treatment."
James Burns, assistant special agent for DEA Operations in New York, said the four arrests helped disrupt organized smuggling efforts between the two countries through the reservation.
He said the alleged smuggling has had widespread implications for the North Country as a whole, fueling a growing criminal enterprise and leaving many addicted.
When OxyContin is legally prescribed, Burns said, the time-release capsules are supposed to be swallowed.
But when being used illegally, he said, many abusers often crush the pills, dilute them and inject them, drastically increasing the chances of overdoses and death.
He said officials have stepped up their efforts to curb the problem, "looking at everybody" from drug-company distributors and physicians to drug dealers and users.
"We're doing our best with the agencies up here to protect public safety," he said during the afternoon conference in Plattsburgh.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie, who has been actively involved in the investigation since it began, applauded the agencies involved and said prosecuting the four suspects on a federal level was a better option, leaving the accused facing up to 20 years behind bars and a possible $1 million fine.
Officials did not disclose whether any drugs or money were seized during the arrests or how far the ring involved is believed to have reached.
With pills being sold illegally up to a $100 a piece, the criminal enterprise appears to have netted thousands of dollars though no exact financial numbers were available Friday.
Authorities said "hundreds and thousands" of pills were involved in the latest bust.
After their arrests, Lazore, Benedict and Dustin were ordered held without bail pending detention hearings next week.
Lauzon was arraigned and released on bond pending trial.
A fifth suspect is still being sought.
E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at: avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com
Romney, Santorum Assail Each Other in GOP Debate
New Radar Confirms Tornadoes Faster
Police: Wash. School Shooting Accidental
Fitness Program Improves Lives of Mentally Ill
NJ Officials Blast NYPD Over Spying Report
2nd Degree Murder Verdict in Lacrosse Slaying
GOP Rivals Pass Contraception Debate, Hit Obama
Romney, Santorum Swap Charges in 20th Debate
Raw Video: Guilty Verdict in UVa Lacrosse Death
$5 Gas Coming to Pumps Near You?
Raw Video: French Police Release Strauss-Kahn
Ga. Spa Shooting Leaves 5 Dead, Victims Related
2 More Western Journalists Die in Syria
7 Killed As Afghan Quran Protests Turn Violent
Santorum Goes After Obama on Energy
Judge Says Lindsay Lohan in the "Home Stretch"
Father Accused of Using Leash on 11 Year Old
Obama Helps Break Ground on Black History Museum
Raw Video: Dozens Dead in Argentina Train Crash
Wounded Vets Regain Some Camaraderie in Kitchen
