Cocaine dealer’s feed mill, corn, cows, farmland and equipment seized, Ohio cops say
A cocaine dealer’s feed mill, farmland, cows and 7,000 bushels of corn are among the property seized this week by authorities in Ohio, media outlets report.
The 66-year-old suspect has eluded arrest for decades, police said on Friday.
Dwight W. Taylor was arrested Monday on drug trafficking charges accusing him of supplying cocaine in central Ohio, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported.
“This was a major player, a major supplier, and this investigation isn’t over yet,” Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said, according to the Times Recorder.
In all, authorities seized 26 properties — including 488 acres of farmland — 7 pounds of cocaine, 13 guns and $670,000, the newspaper reported.
They seized 32 cattle, 24 pieces of farm and construction equipment, and eight vehicles, including a semi-truck, Y-City News reported.
Authorities say the cocaine was delivered to Taylor directly from Mexico, the news outlet reported.
“Forty years, this is the guy that is at the top,” Zanesville Police Chief Tony Coury said, according to the Times Records. “He’s a major guy.”
Police said Taylor was under investigation at various times since the 1980s, but they didn’t gather the evidence needed to charge him with a crime until now, WHIZ reported.
“You just can’t go up and take somebody’s word for it,” Lutz said, according to WHIZ. “You’ve got to be able to prove the case and, so , I agree, it took us way too long to get him, but this is an incredible case that was put together by our people over the last six months to a year.”
Police said Taylor’s nickname was “Farmer,” Y-City News reported.
“That’s what he did in his spare time from selling drugs — he was farming,” Lutz said, according to Y-City News.
If convicted, Taylor could be sentenced to up to 88 years in prison, WHIZ reported.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Cocaine dealer’s feed mill, corn, cows, farmland and equipment seized, Ohio cops say."