Two Licking County men were arrested Monday as part of a multi-county methamphetamine bust, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office announced.

The bust targeted an alleged methamphetamine ring that is believed to be one of the biggest suppliers of the drug in Fairfield County.

The Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force became involved in the investigation, which began in February, after evidence two of the men who were arrested may have been supplying drugs into Licking County as well.

“Authorities believed the methamphetamine that was allegedly trafficked by this organization was manufactured by Mexican drug cartels and transported to Ohio,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a release.

During the investigation, search warrants were executed at multiple locations in Fairfield County and at a location in Pataskala.

Charles C. Emrick Jr., 37, of Newark, and Anthony A. Ficheria, 43, of Hebron, were among those charged, according to Fairfield County Common Pleas Court records.

Others charged include: Jessica L. Ballard, 28, of Lancaster, Mark E. Bowers, 62, of Groveport, Reba L. Hyme, 23, of Lancaster, William B. Smith, 33, of Lancaster, Holly J. Watkins, 37, of Lancaster, Rashad L. Martin, 31, of Reynoldsburg, Michael E. Hedges, 39, of Lancaster, and Timothy E. Hicks, 52, of Pleasantville.