14 charged in narcotics conspiracy involving millions of dollars’ worth of opioids

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged 14 individuals in a narcotics conspiracy alleged to have occurred for at least the past four years.

Each of the defendants is charged with conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, a crime punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison.

According to the indictment unsealed today, the defendants also possessed and distributed heroin and methamphetamine.

The co-conspirators were originally charged by criminal complaint on Nov. 15. Thirteen of the defendants have been arrested and will appear in federal court in Cincinnati. Sterling Parish is a fugitive with an outstanding arrest warrant. Any tips or information on the location of Sterling Parish should be sent to FBI Cincinnati at 513-421-4310.

An affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint details that Steffen Roberson, also known as “Worm,” was running one of the largest heroin/fentanyl drug trafficking organizations in the greater Cincinnati area. The drug trafficking organization is also alleged to have distributed narcotics in Akron, Ohio, Fairfield, Ohio, and Gary, Indiana, as well.

The group was allegedly known to obtain drugs from multiple sources of supply, including in Atlanta and Baltimore. Roberson would allegedly purchase distributable amounts of opioids for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

It is alleged that Roberson’s brother, Anthony Roberson, also known as the “Chemist,” manufactured heroin and fentanyl mixtures for the drug trafficking organization by cutting the narcotics with fillers and looking for ways to make the drug mixtures more potent.

More than 30 state and federal search warrants have been executed since 2018 on co-conspirators’ residences where large quantities of fentanyl and loaded firearms have been routinely recovered.

In total, law enforcement has seized approximately $150,000 in cash, 10 kilograms of fentanyl, multiple vehicles and 28 firearms related to the investigation.

Those charged include:

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac announced the charges. They commended the cooperative investigation in this case with the Hamilton County Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit (RENU), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), the Drug Abuse and Reduction Task Force (DART), Middletown Police Department, Warren County Drug Task Force (WCDTF), Butler County Undercover Regional Narcotics Unit (BURN), Hamilton County Probation Office, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley N. Brucato and Dominick S. Gerace are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #