44 pounds of heroin was taken from what's being described as an international drug-smuggling ring.
Twenty-four suspects now face charges in United States District Court, including heroin possession and drug trafficking. The case began with federal surveillance of the Columbia-to-Miami drug pipeline, but the U-S Attorney's Office says the heroin was smuggled from Columbia, Mexico and Nigeria, and sent to Cleveland to be resold to street dealers.
Additionally, the government may take about $2 million in confiscated cash and possession of homes in Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights and Solon.
The two-year investigation involved numerous phone taps in making the case.
Also today comes word of a major marijuana bust downstate, and authorities believe this case is linked to the Mexican drug cartel.
From our statehouse news bureau, correspondent Bill Cohen reports.
