A drug investigation that began five months ago in Orleans County led to a search of three Genesee County dwellings Tuesday and the arrest of a Batavia man.
Taken into custody was Edgar Perez, 25, of 110 Jackson St., upper. Perez was arraigned in the Town of Barre Court and jailed in Orleans County on $100,000 bail.
In all, four search warrants were executed by law enforcement Tuesday, including one on a car stopped in Barre where investigators reportedly uncovered eight pounds of marijuana.
Perez was reportedly driving the car.
Search warrants were also executed at 110 Jackson St., Batavia and 32 and 33 Sunset Parkway, Oakfield.
Additional suspects from Genesee County are still being sought according to Orleans County investigator Joe Sacco.
Sacco said Tuesday's arrest and searches were unrelated to another recent drug investigation in Orleans County that grabbed regional media attention.
In the raids, investigators reportedly seized some quantity of marijuana, scales, packaging material and other drug paraphenalia at each search location.
Assisting Orleans County's Major Felony Crime Task Force was the Genesee County Local Drug Task Force and the City of Batavia's Emergency Response Team.
For the record, while we expected to receive a copy of a press release from Orleans County on this matter, we have not. This report combines our interview with Joe Sacco this afternoon and the press release published on WIVB's web site (click through for a picture, apparently, of the marijuana seized).
Five month long investigation
Five month long investigation with one arrest for some weed. It just kind of seems like a wast of time and tax dollars.
Bryant, on the surface it
Bryant, on the surface it might seem that way and for the most part, I agree. We don't know what brought the attention of law enforcement to these people. Maybe they were doing more than distributing marijuana. Maybe they were selling to kids. There might be more to the story than what is being revealed in the news.
Some of my family recently went on a North Atlantic cruise and part of their tour was through Amsterdam.
There was very little if any crime associated with soft drugs. They talked to some of the locals about it. The locals always think it's kind of funny when tourists can't believe that there are virtually no problems associated with openly tolerating marijuana and prostitution.
Prostitution has been legalized and zoned in specific districts, regulated and taxed. The women have regular checkups and health care. Marijuana and hash are sold openly in "coffee shops".
http://www.amsterdam.info/prostitution/
http://www.amsterdam.info/drugs/
A lot could be learned from these 2 very unique approaches to lessening the detrimental effect of drugs and prostitution. A very real part of the problem in the US is that both are illegal. This removes the possibility of controlling both with common sense and tolerence.
Many Americans think it's their business to tell other people what they can and can't do and the moral elite are everywhere. The Dutch have come to realize that for the most part, personal choice is just that.
Alcohol is the perfect example of a product that caused far more problems during prohibition. Obviously, a lot of people want their marijuana and other substances or there wouldn't be such a huge market for all of it. In my own personal opinion, the biggest problems related to drug abuse are the laws, not the drug itself. The laws that were enacted in the belief that people need to be protected from themselves are far more damaging.
Nobody wants to see their friends or family lost to drugs but at the same time I don't want to see freinds or family turned into felons just because they like getting high.
Well said, Doug
Well said, Doug