Large scale drug-traffic network investigation leads to arrests

POUGHKEEPSIE — Following the conclusion of a year-long investigation, seven Hudson Valley residents were taken into custody by law enforcement on Jan. 9 and charged in Dutchess County Court with participation in a drug trafficking network in which cocaine and fentanyl were peddled throughout the region.

Damian Cunningham, 40, of Mount Vernon, Nicole Kane, 36, of Highland, Shamique Delaine, 33, Jonte Hatcher, 41, Romell Hearn, 45, Daquan Killian, 32, and Dwan Scafe, 36, all of Poughkeepsie, were charged on 155 wide-ranging counts of felony offenses including criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first and second degrees as well as Class A felonies.

Hatcher, Kane, Hearn and Scafe were charged with firearms offenses including criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, which is a class C violent felony. Hearn and Scafe were also charged with operating as major traffickers, which, if convicted on this charge, could potentially carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Cunningham was charged with trafficking cocaine. Delaine, Hatcher, Hearn, Kane, Killian and Scafe were charged with conspiracy and trafficking cocaine and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

The investigation, spearheaded by the Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, recovered over 10,500 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl worth approximately $75,000, over eight kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $200,000, three firearms — including a ghost gun — and $14,000 in cash.

The investigation, which was carried out over a period of twelve months, was a collaborative effort between the organized crime task force and the New York State Police’s Special Investigations Unit — Hudson Valley and Troop K — Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team.

“Counterfeit opioids containing deadly amounts of fentanyl are a grave threat to New Yorkers,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said of the success of the takedown operation. “Our investigation dismantled a drug trafficking network that was responsible for moving massive quantities of dangerous narcotics throughout the Hudson Valley, where communities have been hit hard by the opioid crisis. My office remains committed to tackling this crisis from every angle, and I thank the New York State Police for their cooperation and diligent work on this investigation that took dangerous drugs and guns off our streets.”