18 men, women arrested after yearlong drug investigation along Rt. 65 corridor

LEETSDALE, Pa. — Police busted and booked 18 suspected heroin dealers on Monday after a yearlong investigation along the Route 65 corridor.

Leetsdale Police Chief Jim Santucci said a number of local police departments and the state attorney general’s office made undercover buys from each of the suspects who were arrested between 8 a.m. and noon on Monday.

According to Santucci, the investigation uncovered “thousands upon thousands of dollars in heroin, marijuana sales” along the Route 65 corridor from the North Side, through Sewickley and Leetsdale, and into Beaver County.

"What we've seen through our investigation, the majority of the heroin is being distributed through the North Side along the 65 corridor straight into Leetsdale and Ambridge," said Santucci.

Police said the 18 men and women taken into custody were charged with dealing heroin, crack, cocaine and marijuana.

"I want to make sure that these low-end and mid-level dealers know that they can't come through Leetsdale or on the 65 corridor without finding one of us right there to take care of them," said Santucci. “Hopefully, by what we did today, it'll show them we're not going to take it anymore."

Three people, Jordan Lanston, 19, of Pittsburgh, Jonathan Gilliam, 24, of Leetsdale, and Maurice Trautman, 35, of Pittsburgh, remain at large, Santucci said.

Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this article.

WPXI