Two Wheeling Residents Convicted On Painkiller Distribution Charges

1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
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WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Two individuals involved in a large prescription painkiller trafficking ring entered pleas of guilty on Monday in Federal court, according to United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II.

Lucas N. HIGH, age 37, of Wheeling, entered a plea of guilty to the felony offense of “Conspiracy to use a Telephone to Facilitate the Distribution of Cocaine, Oxycodone and Buprenorphine.” HIGH’s criminal conduct occurred between October of 2012 and January of 2014 in the Wheeling area. He is free on bond and faces up to 4 years in prison when sentenced.

Cara OLAKO a/k/a Cara Green, age 36, of Wheeling, entered a plea of guilty to “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Cocaine within 1,000 feet of the Patterson Playground.” The transaction that OLAKO admitted to occurred in July of 2013. She is free on bond and faces up to 40 years in prison.

HIGH and OLAKO are part of group of fifteen people indicted in February after a sixteen month investigation into the distribution of oxycodone and other prescription drugs that came to the area from northern Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. Over the course of the investigation thousands of pills were recovered by agents via controlled purchases and court-authorized searches.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Parr handled the cases on behalf of the government. U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr., presided.

These matters were investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, which includes officers and agents from the Wheeling Police Department, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police-BCI, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force is an Appalachia HITDA-funded initiative.