Wilkinsburg men held in connection with drug ring
Two Wilkinsburg men accused of being associates in a cocaine- and heroin-trafficking ring have been arrested by agents of a federal narcotics task force, authorities announced Tuesday.
Darius Dyer, 38, and Derrick Lyman, 39, were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin after members of the task force, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, monitored one transaction and seized 10 kilos of cocaine, a half-kilogram of heroin and an undisclosed amount of cash, court documents state.
The men, who were arrested Monday and charged in a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday, are scheduled to appear for a hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Authorities have been investigating the "Darius Dyer drug-trafficking organization" since January, Pittsburgh police Detective Frederick Woodward said in an affidavit. Woodward, who is assigned to the DEA task force, described Lyman as the supplier of the Dyer organization.
In February, agents began intercepting and recording telephone calls to phones used by Dyer and Lyman, according to court documents.
"This investigation has involved interviews and debriefings with numerous confidential sources, cooperating defendants and law-enforcement personnel," Woodward said in the affidavit.
On Friday, a customer called Dyer seeking to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin, according to the affidavit.
On Monday, police were monitoring Lyman as he left a building at 410 Center St. in Wilkinsburg and went to Dyer's home to deliver a box and a large plastic bag that was full, the affidavit states. Lyman loaded the packages into his Pontiac Grand Prix to make the delivery, according to the affidavit.
Agents then entered Dyer's Midland Street home and received his consent to search the box, which contained the cocaine and heroin, the affidavit said.
Dyer was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison in November 1995 after pleading guilty to drug-distribution offenses, according to the Allegheny County court's Web site. His criminal record in the county dates back to 1989.
Both the DEA and U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment.
