UPDATE: Feds Claim Takedown of Drug Ring on Minnesota Reservations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Authorities say they've taken down an interstate drug trafficking ring that was the largest source of heroin on two Minnesota American Indian reservations.

The 41 defendants named in the indictment face charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and other drugs. Several also face firearms charges. They're making their initial appearances this week in federal court in St. Paul.

U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said Thursday the ring was led by 37-year-old Omar Sharif Beasley. Luger says the arrests in the case have shut down a major pipeline that spread heroin across the Red Lake and White Earth reservations, as well as Native American communities in North Dakota.

The indictment alleges that the drugs came from Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and elsewhere.

Online court records don't list an attorney for Beasley.