DECATUR — Police reports accuse Akaninyene Okoh of conducting a busy drug-dealing business in Decatur.
In the span of five months one particular customer ordered and received more than 4 ounces of cocaine and Okoh’s bank account swelled by some $6,800.
But an arrest warrant said the customer was a confidential source working a sting operation in a partnership with the Decatur Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit and the FBI.
The warrant shows Okoh made his last sale to the source — about an ounce of the drug priced at $1,700 — in February 2021. But he was not arrested until Jan. 19 of this year and later appeared in court charged with three counts of drug dealing. Delays waiting for drug analysis at the State Police Crime Lab often lead to long lead times between investigations and arrests in such cases.
Okoh is pleading not guilty and is due back in Macon County Circuit Court April 3 for a hearing. He’s free on pretrial release in the meantime with the condition he stays away from alcohol and drugs.
The arrest warrant said the cops had become aware that Okoh had a busy drug-dealing business and launched an investigation into the 44-year-old defendant and a “co-conspirator” in August 2020.
They targeted him with the first “controlled purchase” in October of that year when the confidential source paid $1,700 for an ounce of the drug. In December they upped the order to 2 ounces and paid Okoh $3,400 after meeting him at a prearranged location.
The final purchase was made in February 2021, when the source ordered another ounce of cocaine and again paid $1,700 for it, according to Decatur Police Detective Jeffrey Hockaday, who signed the arrest warrant.
2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review
Lourash
Hirstein
Phillip Gehrken
Joseph A. Williams
Jetrevius O. Jarrett
Edwards
King-Woods
Wilson
Derrickson
Colby J. Park
Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid