Elmira drug dealers receive federal prison terms

Two Elmira opioid dealers are off to prison for their roles in a drug trafficking ring. In federal court Monday, 27-year-old Edward Barrett was sentenced to 7 ½ years after he was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue. In addition, 24-year-old Dusty Pemberton was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison for his conviction on the same charge. Federal prosecutors said that both men were part of a large-scale opioid manufacturing and trafficking organization that operated in the Southern Tier of New York between 2015 and May 2017. As members of the organization, Barrett and Pemberton were street-level dealers of blue pills containing furanyl fentanyl in the Elmira area. The blue pills were made to look like legitimate 30 milligram Percocet pills. Barrett and Pemberton each admitted to selling pills to various customers, including both a 21 year-old female and a 25 year-old male, , who ultimately died of drug overdoses. To date, 16 members and associates of the opioid manufacturing and trafficking operation have been convicted of federal narcotics offenses.