The indictment alleges that Jahrell Friday, 39, of Albany, served as a central figure in the distribution network who sourced narcotics from Albany-based suppliers Jayshaun Young and Thomas Doutsis. Friday allegedly coordinated sales from his home, local parking lots, and hotel rooms, and also attempted to import a kilogram of cocaine from California via mail — one intercepted package contained cocaine mixed in with Christmas presents and clothing for children.
Higher-level suppliers Alex Umpierre, 41, and Alcides Garcia, 55, both of the Bronx, are charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker, which carries a mandatory life sentence in state prison. The indictment alleges Garcia used a bodega on Arthur Avenue as a distribution point, while Umpierre admitted in intercepted calls that he was cooking crack cocaine in his Bronx apartment and left a Pyrex container on a hot stove, destroying approximately $2,000 worth of cocaine.
Investigators seized more than five kilograms of cocaine and approximately 1.2 kilograms of heroin laced with fentanyl, which has a combined potential street value of approximately $350,000. Authorities also recovered five handguns and approximately $67,000 in cash during the operation, which spanned Albany, Bronx, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Ulster, and Westchester counties.
The investigation utilized covert surveillance and hundreds of hours of wiretaps over more than two dozen target phones. Investigators documented defendants using code words to mask communications, including "Fernando" as a code for fentanyl and "dog food" or "food" to refer to heroin.
Beyond the narcotics charges, Mark E. Hebert II, 42, of Cohoes, faces additional counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and related charges in connection with a vehicle theft in Bethlehem, New York. The case is being prosecuted by OCTF Assistant Deputy Attorney General Andrew McElwee under the supervision of OCTF Upstate Deputy Bureau Chief Maria Moran.
Attorney General Letitia James announced the takedown as part of the SURGE Initiative (Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic), which launched in 2017. "These traffickers were flooding our communities with cocaine and a deadly combination of heroin and fentanyl," Attorney General James said in the announcement. Since its inception, the initiative has resulted in charges against 1,035 alleged traffickers.
All 26 defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The indictment was unsealed in Albany County Court on April 16, 2026.