Erie County Drug Bust, Sheriff Deputies Seize 14 Kilos Of Cocaine
The Erie County Sheriff's Office seized 14 kilos of cocaine on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Three people were arrested in connection to the narcotics. The bust came after a long-term, transnational investigation by the Erie County Sheriff’s Narcotics and Intelligence Unit and its partners, according to its Facebook page.
Sheriff's personnel conducted surveillance on two of the individuals arrested at a hotel. The third was surveilled at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. A man from Inglewood, California, 48-year-old Timothy Tucker, arrived at the airport on a flight from Detroit that started in Los Angeles. ESCO personnel observed him leave the airport in a car and travel to a home in Buffalo. The other two suspects, Chastity Banks and Loany Gato-Aronategui, left the hotel at which they were staying and arrived at the same hotel.
The Erie County Sheriff’s SWAT Team forced their way into the home and detained Tucker and Gato-Aronategui. Other deputies followed Banks, who left the residence in a vehicle and conducted a traffic stop in Buffalo. Members of the Narcotics and Intelligence Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigations Safe Streets Task Force and the Buffalo Police Intelligence Unit, searched the residence and a vehicle. Investigators found 13 kilos of cocaine in brick form in secret compartments of a Ford Explorer. One kilo of cocaine was discovered in a bucket in the garage. All three of the suspects were arrested and charged following the search.
- Timothy Tucker is charged with a class-A felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance-8 ounces or more and a class-B felony count of criminal possession of a narcotic with intent to sell.
- Banks, 23, of Los Angles, California, is charged with a class-A felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance-8 ounces or more and a class-B felony count of criminal possession of a narcotic with intent to sell.
- Gato-Aronategui, 19, of Henderson, Nevada, is charged with a class-A felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance-8 ounces or more and a class-B felony count of criminal possession of a narcotic with intent to sell.
The three individuals have been arraigned and are being held without bail at the Erie County Holding Center.