Eight charged in Muskingum County Drug Investigation

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- A Muskingum County Grand Jury indicted eight individuals after a long-term investigation that started in 2019, involving effort from several local, state and federal agencies. 

Authorities say the investigation began in 2019 when members of the Muskingum County/Zanesville City Joint Drug Unit found out about a group of individuals from Columbus  who had moved to the Zanesville area with the intention to sell methamphetamine and fentanyl.  Approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 2 pounds of fentanyl were seized during the investigation along with 13 firearms and $9,000 in cash.

“When you look at these charges, and you look at the first felonies, the number of first felonies that are involved in this case, involving a pattern of corrupt activity, it basically shows the public that this case involves a large group of people dealing with a high volume amount of drugs,” Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.

Sheriff Lutz says the individuals charged are responsible for supplying drugs to numerous communities in Southeastern Ohio and West Virginia. Zanesville Police Chief Tony Coury said it has been a long investigation and even with the COVID-19 pandemic, the drug business in Muskingum County hasn’t slowed down.

“I couldn’t tell you how many people we’ve lost in Muskingum County in the last couple years to fentanyl and we continue to lose. These are the people that are responsible for that, some of them. They’re just some of the people responsible, there’s more out there, but you can see from the amount of bond these people have, they’re serious players,” Coury said.

These outcomes wouldn’t have been possible without the combined effort and assistance of numerous agencies, agents and detectives from local, state and federal agencies, including the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Zanesville Police Department, Muskingum County Prosecutors Office, Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, ATF, DEA, US Attorney’s Office and United States Marshal Services.

If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, contact the Muskingum County/Zanesville City Joint Drug Unit at (740)-455-7917 or (740)-455-0712.

The following eight individual’s have been charged.