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A 27-year-old man who allegedly sold 61 pounds of marijuana in a Lebanon parking lot remains in the Warren County Jail this week. His was the first arrest in what authorities said is an "extensive investigation" of a large, Michigan-based drug-trafficking organization.

Tarjit Chohan, 27, of Hazel Park, allegedly delivered the drugs to an undercover agent at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the corner of at Ohio 63 and Glosser Road. That's when a tactical response unit swooped in to make the arrest, according to John J. Burke, commander of the Warren County Drug Task Force.

The street value for the five compressed bricks of marijuana is between $150,000 and $200,000, Burke said. Police also discovered one pound of cocaine valued at $100,000 and about $500 worth of ecstasy when they arrested Chohan, Burke said.

"We've certainly had much bigger busts, but ... 61 pounds of marijuana at one time certainly is up on the totem pole, so to speak," he said.

Chohan faces a host of felony charges, including trafficking in marijuana, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering and trafficking in cocaine. Arraigned Monday, March 30, in Lebanon Municipal Court, Chohan remains in the Warren County Jail on a bond of $500,000.

The task force had been collaborating for about a month with Drug Enforcement Agency offices in Dayton and Detroit, Mich., on an investigation into a Detroit drug-trafficking organization suspected of transporting marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy into southwest Ohio, Burke said.

The investigation is ongoing, he said, noting the organization is "significant" in size and rakes in between $400,000 and $500,000 a month dealing the illegal drugs.

Burke described drug trade in the area as "an ongoing problem."

"These people are distributing to not only Warren County, but all of southwest Ohio," he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4541 or eschwartzberg@

coxohio.com.