More than 10,000 packets of heroin were seized Monday night after Altoona police busted a suspected Johnstown to Altoona drug connection.

Damon “Fat Cat” Devine, 36, of Johnstown was arrested in the parking lot of Motel 6 on Sterling Street about 9:30 p.m. after Devine and three alleged accomplices delivered 13 bricks of heroin — 50 packets in each brick totaling 650 packets — to a police informant.

“We took a significant amount of heroin off the streets of Altoona and Johnstown,” Altoona police Lt. Benjamin Jones said Tuesday of the arrests by Altoona police and the Blair County Drug Task Force, along with agents with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and the Cambria County Drug Task Force.

The heroin was branded “Dragon” by Devine, who police said talked to the informant using Facetime on Tuesday leading up to their meeting.

Devine allegedly was criticizing the informant for not having money owed to him and told him “he was screwing up a good thing,” police noted in the charges.

Devine also told the informant everyone wanted his brand of heroin, “Dragon.”

According to police, a police informant working with Altoona police arranged to meet Devine at the motel so the informant could pay the $7,000 owed for heroin that Devine had already supplied to the informant. Police supplied the informant with that money and another $2,000 for more heroin.

Police in Cambria County had followed Devine, who rode in a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Jasmine N. McGowan, 26, also of Johnstown, and another vehicle in their entourage, a 2006 red Pontiac G6 that was driven by 29-year-old Anthony Freiwald, also of Johnstown. Riding with Freiwald was Barbara Tyler, 57, of Trenton, N.J., police said.

When the two vehicles arrived at the motel, police were waiting and said Devine used Facetime to call the informant, who was in a room. Devine had the informant come outside and after the informant handed $7,000 to Devine along with the $2,000 for more heroin, Devine allegedly said he had eight bricks of heroin for the informant that he had paid for and was fronting him another five bricks for which he would owe $1,250. Devine then told the informant to get the heroin from “her” in the red car, according to police.

Tyler allegedly handed the informant the 13 bricks of heroin and as the informant walked back to his police contact, officers moved in and arrested the four on felony and misdemeanor drug delivery charges.

Police immediately seized the $9,000 in drug task force funds supplied for the deal. Another $826 was found on Devine, and McGowan’s purse held $7,126, police said.

At 1:15 a.m., police and state drug agents descended on McGowan’s Johnstown home, 179 Strayer St., and allegedly hauled off $8,849 in cash, 200 bricks of heroin, an ounce of marijuana and 87.6 grams of crack cocaine. The heroin equaled about 10,000 packets and the crack cocaine equaled about 3 ounces.

A Philadelphia man, James Everett-Bey, was arrested after the search in Johnstown and also faces felony drug charges.

“If 13 bricks of that heroin came to Altoona, how many more bricks could have come to Altoona in the future,” Jones said of the seizure.

Jones said the investigation remains ongoing and was supported financially by Operation Our Town.

Magisterial District Judge Todd Kelly set bail for Devine and Tyler at $100,000 each while bail for Freiwald was set at $25,000. McGowan’s bail was set at 10 percent of $25,000.

Preliminary hearing for the four suspects are scheduled for Feb. 23 before Magisterial District Judge Steven Jackson.

Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.