Takedown Dismantles Drug Trafficking Organization Based in Parkersburg

 Four Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaints; Eleven Arrested on State Criminal Complaints

Six Federal Search Warrants Executed

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced today the arrests of four individuals for their roles in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana in Parkersburg and elsewhere. The takedown is the result of a nearly year-long investigation, dubbed “Long Time Coming,” led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Parkersburg Violent Crimes and Narcotics Task Force (PNTF).

Four individuals were arrested on federal criminal complaints, 11 individuals were arrested on state criminal complaints, and six federal search warrants were executed in Parkersburg during today’s takedown. 

Charged in three separate federal criminal complaints with conspiracy to distribute quantities of methamphetamine are: Carlo Ramsey, 56; Robert Sanders, Jr., 29; and Ambera Roberts, 34, all of Parkersburg. Charged in a federal criminal complaint with  possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl is Floyd D. Ramsey, 41, of Chicago, Illinois.  The defendants have been detained pending their upcoming detention hearings in federal court.

“Drug trafficking organizations put our communities in harm’s way,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston.  “I applaud the diligent work of our law enforcement partners whose efforts put long-standing drug dealers in Parkersburg out of business.  The arrest of these individuals demonstrates our commitment to keeping highly addictive and dangerous drugs from destroying lives.”

“The individuals arrested today have been slinging poison in this community for too long,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Erek Davodowich, from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Louisville Division.  The dedicated men and women of DEA, working alongside our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts, remain committed to pursuing those who threaten the health and safety of our communities with violence and dangerous drugs, and bringing them to justice.”

“It is our hope that today's arrests will significantly impact the distribution of illegal drugs in the Wood County area,” said Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Lefebure. “This investigation and the subsequent arrests resulted from a collaborative effort between federal and State law enforcement agencies.  The Wood County Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia remain committed to prosecuting those individuals who bring and sell illegal drugs into our communities."

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the PNTF, the Parkersburg Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Vienna Police Department,  the Williamstown Police Department, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Boyd County (KY) Sheriff’s Department, the Russell (KY) Police Department and the Raceland (KY) Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is handling the prosecution.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

Please note: A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.