BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Federal authorities have made more arrests in one of the largest drug busts ever in Hamilton County.
Two Cincinnati men face federal charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in a ring that brought more than 150 pounds of cocaine into the Cincinnati area since early 1997, authorities say.
The arrests of Quinton Dews, 26, of Evanston, and Christopher Perkins, also known as Christopher Dixon, 25, of Over-the-Rhine, ended a seven-month undercover sting by the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Regional Narcotics Unit.
The two men are named in a sealed federal indictment for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine to the area from Atlanta from early 1997 through this month.
They are in federal custody and are expected to make court appearances Friday.
The indictment also names Damon Forbes, of Atlanta.
Authorities say Mr. Forbes is the connection to the same ring that was busted in January when Hamilton County authorities seized 22 pounds of cocaine.
At that time, police arrested Lanny Coppin, 34; Stanley Cross, 39; Alfredo Rodriguez Garcia, 32; and Broderick Jackson, 27 -- all from the Atlanta area -- and Dawn Viveiros, 23, of Houston, on federal charges of distribution of controlled substances.
If convicted, they face 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $4 million fine.
In an unrelated investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Regional Narcotics Unit, another Cincinnati man faces federal drug charges.
Leon McDonald, 41, of Mount Auburn is charged, along with two Texas men, in a federal indictment for allegedly distributing more than 100 pounds of cocaine and more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana during the past three years from Texas to the Cincinnati area.
One of the Texas men, Glen Ramsey, of Dallas, was identified as the organization's source for the drugs. Authorities say he supplied drugs to Dondi Anderson, 38, of Evanston, a convicted cocaine wholesaler.
