BUFFALO, N.Y. – A federal jury delivered a guilty verdict today in the case of Henry Lloyd, 34, and Roman Dunnigan, 41, both of Buffalo, NY, convicting them of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. The bust, a culmination of a multi-state investigation, reveals a brazen attempt to move serious narcotics across state lines, masked by flimsy lies and a desperate scramble to evade law enforcement.
The scheme unraveled in May 2017, when Lloyd and Dunnigan purchased last-minute airline tickets from Buffalo to Houston, TX. Lloyd, already on supervised release for a prior conviction, failed to notify his probation officer of the travel. The pair, along with two female companions, were flagged at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport carrying $64,000 in cash – immediately seized by the DEA. Undeterred, the group rebooked a flight through Rochester, NY, hoping to slip past authorities. DEA agents, however, were already on their trail, alerting their counterparts in Houston.
Houston Police Department detectives initiated surveillance upon the group’s arrival. They watched as Lloyd and Dunnigan purchased an Intex Inflatable Chair at a Walmart, a seemingly innocuous purchase that would later prove crucial. The next day, Dunnigan, driving a rental vehicle with Lloyd as a passenger, was pulled over near a U.S. Post Office – a location authorities suspected would be used to ship the cocaine. Both men offered conflicting stories to the officer, raising immediate red flags. A K-9 unit detected the presence of narcotics, leading to a search of the trunk where detectives found approximately one kilogram of cocaine hidden inside the Intex Inflatable Chair box.
The investigation didn’t stop in Houston. Roughly three weeks later, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, working with the DEA, executed a search warrant at 1807 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. The raid yielded 177 grams of cocaine, 344 grams of butyryl fentanyl, two more empty Intex Inflatable Furniture boxes, drug packaging materials, $5,500 in cash, a receipt in Dunnigan’s name, and a firearm bearing Dunnigan’s DNA. The evidence painted a clear picture of a sophisticated narcotics operation operating right out of Buffalo.
Both Lloyd and Dunnigan come with extensive criminal histories. Dunnigan boasts prior convictions for 2nd degree Robbery and 3rd degree Possession of a Loaded Firearm in New York State, alongside a federal conviction for structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. Lloyd isn’t far behind, with a prior conviction for 4th degree Possession of a Firearm in NYS, as well as federal convictions for possession with intent to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their past clearly didn’t deter them from engaging in further criminal activity.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah E. Lenihan and Charles E. Watkins, Jr. successfully prosecuted the case. Lloyd now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, with a potential maximum of 40 years. Dunnigan is looking at a mandatory minimum of five years, with a maximum of 40 years behind bars. The investigation involved a coordinated effort from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Erie County Sheriff’s Office, Houston Police Department, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) Police, Transportation Security Administration, Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Barbara Burns was the contact for this release.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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