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Suspect held after 1,000 pounds of marijuana seized

More than 1,000 pounds of pot seized from business

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By Michael D. Pitman and Jessica Heffner, Staff Writers Updated 10:43 AM Tuesday, November 3, 2009

FAIRFIELD — A Cincinnati man is being held after federal agents arrested him in a drug bust that officials say netted more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

Kevin Howard, 26, of the 2500 block of Montana Avenue in Cincinnati, is being held in the Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky on charges of distribution of illegal drugs and conspiracy, Butler County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Todd Langmeyer said this morning.

The bust occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, after Drug Enforcement Agents executed a search warrant at Azteca Tile and Marble on Constitution Drive when Howard tried to move two crates with marijuana inside, said Russ Neville, Cincinnati DEA resident in charge.

The marijuana has a street value of about $1.5 million, according to Local 12 WKRC.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office helped conduct surveillance on Azteca — which Neville said is believed to be a false company — prior to delivery of the crates.

Neville said a couple of weeks ago, Houston DEA agents were checking shipping companies and came across some packages addressed from Pharr, Texas, Neville said. Three packages were to be shipped to Ohio — two to Fairfield and one to Toledo.

Before delivering the crates, Cincinnati DEA agents opened the one bound for Toledo, Neville said. Nearly 400 pounds of marijuana was inside.

Agents did not open the crates designated for Fairfield. Opening and resealing them would have been detected, Neville said.

“The package that was going to Toledo was the exact same style crate, addressed the same way, the same type of handwriting, same shipper,” Neville said Monday.

“When the delivery truck gets there, (Howard) gets a fork lift and brings it out of the business,” he said. “He unloads the two crates and he puts them into a van. When he just gets ready to pull off, we arrest him right there in the parking lot.”

Shipping manifests show 19 crates since June have been delivered to Fairfield. Neville said the company was also shipping similar crates to Georgia and other areas of Texas.

“This is definitely an organized shipper coming off the southwest border,” he said.

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