Cocaine, meth ring in WNY broken by DEA

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Nine people have been arrested for a drug ring that involved mailing cocaine and methamphetamines through the US Postal Service.

Federal agents say 42-year-old Steven Bennett of California was the main supplier who would mail the drugs and make several trips to Buffalo. The other eight defendants are from western New York.

Three of the suspects were arrested Friday morning in the apartment above a deli at Niagara and Jersey Street. Police says by the time they could get to the top of the stairs, Philip Keomongkoun, Christopher Eodice, and Angela Corkins were attempting to flush drugs down the toilet. Four rifles were recovered there. This drug ring involved extremely potent meth from Mexico.

Also arrested were Chandra Woods, Jessica Lopez, Malcom Bull, Nikki Lillard, and Guy Burt.

MORE | You can read the full indictment from the U.S. Attorney's Office here

DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Dale Kasprzyk said, "It's our belief that very little meth was actually able to arrive in western New York and the meth that did arrive here was often seized by our agency or the other agencies."

One of the eight arrested, Jessica Lopez, worked at Bank of America and is accused of laundering the drug money at her bank. Lopez allegedly set up fake accounts to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to and from California.

"This drug trafficking organization has been obliterated. There is no member of it left here in Buffalo," Kasprzyk said. "Everyone has been arrested, all of the high level members of this group have been arrested. If you look at the table, you can see we've seized assault weapons, we've seized cash, we've seized drugs."

In all, nine people were arrested on Friday.