Fifteen people, including three from Western Pennsylvania, have been charged in two cases for their alleged roles in a large-scale operation to traffic more than 100 pounds of illegal drugs throughout Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania.

As a result of a yearlong investigation by federal and local officials, the suspects were apprehended in a series of coordinated arrests from April to May based on criminal complaints and a federal 21-count indictment returned in May, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Conspiracy members allegedly obtained methamphetamine from drug suppliers in Akron, Ohio, as well as arranged shipments from the U.S.-Mexico border. Methamphetamine was purchased in pound quantities and then resold to drug customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the region, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Four homes in Akron were used as stash houses to store, process and distribute methamphetamine. Investigators seized about 15 pounds of methamphetamine and a firearm. The investigation revealed drug transactions totaling more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Among the defendants facing charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine are Bryce Dittman, 27, of St. Petersburg, Tyler Smith, 28, of East Brady, and Earl Breckenridge, 56, of Oil City. Breckenridge also has been charged with use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug offense, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.