Cleveland Heights Police to Receive Piece of $1.7 Million Drug Forfeiture Money

The Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force (NOLETF), of which Cleveland Heights is a part, received a $1.7 million share of cash and property forfeited following a major drug bust in Northeast Ohio, the U.S. Attorney announced.

Cleveland Heights Police officers worked on the 2010 investigation and dismantling of a heroin trafficking operation led by Christopher Ugochukwu. The 20-kilogram — that's just over 44 pounds — heroin seizure is believed to be the largest bust of its kind in Ohio history.

Ugochukwu is currently serving a 26-year prison sentence for his role in the ring, which brought heroin from Nigeria, Mexico and Colombia and sold it throughout Greater Cleveland. Twenty-three others were also arrested in connection with the operation.

The $1.7 million seized will be shared with all the agencies who were in the NOLETF at the time of the 2010 bust, which includes Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Shaker Heights, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority, University Heights and the Lake County Narcotics Agency.

Forfeitures from two other federal cases were also distributed this week by the U.S. Attorney of Northern Ohio. All told, Northeast Ohio law enforcement agencies pulled in $3.4 million in the three federal cases.