SEVERAL HELD IN DRUG RING THAT USED ADS

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A marijuana ring passed out business cards and fliers
at schools and painted its distribution houses bright blue to signal
customers, according to authorities who spent Thursday rounding up
suspected members, including the alleged ringleader and a city police
detective.

More than 300 local and federal officers, including five SWAT teams,
arrested roughly two dozen suspects and searched a dozen houses,
confiscating six handguns and an undetermined amount of cash and
drugs, said Peter Ahearn, special agent in charge of Buffalo's FBI
office.

Among those arrested were alleged ringleader Frankie Johnson, 46, who
police said had been in the drug business 25 years despite several
arrest, and Det. Andres Ortiz, a veteran police officer assigned to
the department's Major Crimes unit.

Ortiz, charged with using a telephone in a drug crime, " was
specifically working for Johnson's criminal enterprise," Ahearn said.

Fliers and business cards handed out at suburban high schools would
not overly advertise drugs, instead listing an address and phone
number, along with a vague business name, such as "Rod and Frankie's."
Customers were directed to one of six "weed houses" investigators said.

"Each one of these houses was painted bright blue to be identified as
the house. It was a very sophisticated and controlled operation,"
Ahearn said.

The operation, which police said sold an estimated $120,000 worth of
marijuana a week, came under scrutiny a year ago and has been at the
center of several shootings and threats of violence, authorities said.
At least six shootings were thwarted after investigators intercepted
information while monitoring the operation, authorities said.

Police Commissioner Rocco Diina said most of the city's violence has
its roots in drugs. The city has seen 42 homicides so far this year,
on par with last year's rate. More than half of the cases are unsolved.

"Most of the crime is related to drugs one way or another," said
Diina, "whether it's someone stealing to support their habit or
someone making a living selling... Drugs affect everything."