AKWESASNE -- Robert Jon Lazore, 42, of Snye, Quebec, was sentenced on Monday to 12.5 years in prison for conspiring to distribute oxycodone on the Akwesasne Mohawk territory.

As part of his plea on June 22, Lazore admitted that between 2008 and November 2012, he operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed oxycodone in the transnational Akwesasne reservation.

Lazore obtained 5,000 oxycodone tablets at a time from Canadian suppliers for distribution on the reservation. He used at least eight couriers and runners to coordinate the distribution of oxycodone to his customers. These couriers and runners included co-defendants Carrie Lazore, Teri Jo Lazore, Travis Adams, Todd Edwards, and James Labarr. They have been convicted and sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 33 to 87 months.

Lazore regularly provided each courier with 100 to 200 tablets of oxycodone to sell to customers in both Canada and the United States, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Syracuse.

In December, Lazore was extradited from Canada to the United States following a term of imprisonment in Canada.

This case was the result of close cooperative efforts of HSI, led by the Massena Residence Office, in conjunction with CBP, DEA, and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police. These agencies worked closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Akwesasne Mohawk Tribal Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec, and the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as U.S. Border Patrol, the New York State Police, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Canton Police Department, Potsdam Police Department, and Plattsburgh Police Department.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Elizabeth R. Rabe and Troy Anderson prosecuted the case.

Lazore was extradited to face charges in the Northern District of New York with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.