Members Of Alleged California-Ohio Drug Ring Indicted

CLEVELAND, OH - Six people have been indicted as part of a drug ring that allegedly brought methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into Ohio from California. The group reportedly brought the drugs into the Buckeye State and then moved the drugs to West Virginia, where they were sold.

Police say Roya Tabatabai, 32, of Grafton; Omid Tabatabai, 36, of Los Angeles; Joshua Thacker, 36, of Elyria; Joseph Bratkovich, 41, of Wellington; Gabrielle Fry, 22, of California, and Nancy Rhode, 39, of Maysel, W. Va. all played a role in the transportation of the narcotics.

The ring was allegedly active from 2015 through 2017, before police were able to disrupt the group. According to the indictment, Tabatabai would acquire shipments of methamphetamines and cocaine in Los Angeles and then ship the drugs to his sister, Roya Tabatabai. Omid allegedly sent the shipments of narcotics weekly.

Roya would then give the drugs to Bratkovich, Rhodes, and Thacker for distribution in Ohio and West Virginia. She allegedly used her home in Grafton as a storage site.

Police say Omid Tabatabai, Thacker, and Bratkovich used guns to protect their drug trafficking activities.

The drug trafficking investigation was handled by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vasile Katsaros.

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