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Ten Indicted in $4 Million Cocaine Operation

U.S. Attorney David Hickton announced today his office has indicted ten people in a large cocaine trafficking operation in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. Hickton said a coalition of several law enforcement agencies seized a tractor trailer containing $450,000 in cash and more than twenty kilograms of cocaine, worth about $4 million. He said the vehicle was found in Allegheny County's Plum Borough, on its way to Pittsburgh.

"We have stopped the drugs at our border," said Hickton. "We have intercepted them before they hit the street, and we have sent the message to these drug criminals that Western Pennsylvania is not open for business."

The U.S. Attorney said the drugs originally came from Mexico, as is the case with about 90% of illegal drugs in the region. The investigation ranged from April up to the July 15 arrests, as police photographed the transfer of drugs and money to build a case.

The U.S. Attorney's office said "the law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both" for possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.