$286,000 worth of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth seized by ADDU

ALBANY — During the past few weeks, the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit planned and executed four separate drug raids in Albany that ultimately resulted in the arrest of seven people and the seizure of more than $286,659 worth of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, according to unit commander Maj. Prurince Dice.

Dice called a news conference Tuesday at ADDU’s headquarters to show off the enormous haul of illegal drugs brought in by the department and described the operation as “a major victory against the problem of drugs in the Albany community.”

“As you can see, the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit has had a busy couple of weeks,” Dice said, motioning to two tables behind him loaded with gallon-size plastic bags of marijuana, various smaller bags of cocaine, heroin and meth, along with stacks of cash, a semi-auto handgun and an AR-15 rifle. “We have been hitting the streets very hard, targeting drug traffickers and drug enterprises in our community. As a result of that, we have seized a tremendous amount of illegal drugs, more than a quarter of a million dollars worth, and (gotten) weapons off the streets. We have made seven arrests and, most importantly, these drugs are no longer on our streets.”

Dice explained that his unit takes its work very seriously and strives to bring drug traffickers to justice. These busts, the major said, puts his team “one up” on the drug trade.

“What you see here is four different incidents that we as a unit spearheaded,” Dice said. “As a result of the hard work by these individuals here at ADDU, we are able to say that we are one up on keeping our community safe.”

Dice gave a rundown on each operation/search warrant served, including who was arrested, what they were charged with and what drugs/weapons were recovered.

According to ADDU reports, the first search warrant was served at 1406 N. Davis St., Apt B. Dontavious Thomas, 29, Artavious Strum, 29, and Billie Woods, 61, were arrested and charged with trafficking heroin, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of drug-related objects, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a dangerous drug (Viagra), and tampering with evidence.

Drugs and contraband seized at the North Davis residence included 35 grams of cocaine, 354.1 grams of marijuana, 11.9 grams of heroin, 17.2 grams of methamphetamine and a stolen .22 caliber Chiappa handgun. The drugs had a combined street value of $17,467.

Search warrant No. 2 was served at 323 Lucille St. Sean Burton, 37, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking ecstasy, possession of Schedule II controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and drug-related objects.

Drugs and contraband seized at the Lucille Street residence included 1,046.2 grams of marijuana, 67 grams of meth, 3,805 grams of ecstasy, 1.6 grams of cocaine, four pills of oxycodone and $2,464 in cash. The drugs have a combined street value of $39,766.

Search warrant No. 3 was served at 102 Barbre Lane. Jaamon Besson, 33, and Jana Belin, 19, were arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, obstruction of law enforcement officers, possession of drug-related objects and theft by receiving stolen property.

Drugs and contraband seized at the Barbre Lane residence included 16.4 pounds of marijuana, an AR-15 rifle and $4,529 in cash. The drugs have a street value of $225,000, Dice said.

The fourth and final search warrant was served at 2421 Gillionville Road. John Hess, 23, was arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine.

Drugs and contraband seized included 42 grams of methamphetamine. The drugs have a street value of $4,840.

“We are going to continue to root out drugs in our community,” Dice said. “If you are dealing drugs, we are gunning for you. We are not going to stop. These drugs came from somewhere, and we are going to find out where. We are not interested in the users, we want the dealers and the suppliers. We are going to find the people who are bringing drugs into our community and stop them.”