A five-state, bicoastal drug trafficking organization that illegally moved crystal meth, fentanyl, oxycodone and marijuana from Los Angeles to the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic regions has been broken up, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Investigators found the drug ring responsible for allegedly transporting at least 800 pounds of crystal meth since 2019. The drugs were shipped from the supplier in Los Angeles to the organization’s leaders in the Philly region, authorities said, before the narcotics were eventually distributed across Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia.
Tyrone Baker, 29, of East Lansdowne, Delaware County; Shakeem Johnson, 27, of Philadelphia; Joshua Quiles, 31, of King of Prussia, Montgomery County; Jhamir Winans, 21, of Exton, Chester County; and Ricky Evans, 28, of Los Angeles, have been arrested for their alleged roles in the cross-country drug operation.
Each suspect has been charged with more than 100 felony counts of corrupt organization, conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of a communications facility and other related offenses.
An additional three sub-dealers and other members of the drug organization have also been taken into custody, officials said.
The investigation found that Baker, Quiles, Winans, Johnson and others connected to the drug ring were allegedly purchasing large amounts of meth from Evans.
The drugs were then shipped by Evans to the four other suspects via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS from different post offices, UPS stores and other shipping locations, authorities said.
Officials said that payments between the four other suspects and Evans were primarily transferred via CashApp. More than $86,000 was exchanged between March 2021 and March 2022, according to authorities.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Department of Homeland Security Investigations had opened a separate investigation in which federal officials had found 91 packages shipped between October 2019 and December 2021 that matched the pattern associated with the drug ring.
Each of the shipments had a mailing or a return address in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia regions. Approximately 60 pounds of crystal meth was found within 15 of the 91 packages seized by federal officials.
When the five suspects were arrested, authorities seized 83 pounds of crystal meth, 200 bags of fentanyl, 100 oxycodone pills, 25 firearms, a ballistics vest and approximately $135,000 in cash. The 83 pounds of crystal meth would be worth at least $2.6 million if it were sold as single doses, officials said.
SIGNIFICANT METHAMPHETAMINE DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION DISMANTLED; THE GROUP IS BELIEVED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR 800…
Posted by Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Authorities said that an arrest in March 2021 of suspected drug trafficker Chase Smith, 29, of Upper Darby, Delaware County, spawned the investigation. Officials learned that Smith, who allegedly sold more than two pounds of crystal meth to an undercover Lower Merion Township police officer, was part of a large-scale drug trafficking ring that spanned the entire country and was rooted in the Philly region.
The investigation was headed up by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Lower Merion and Upper Merion Township police, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
“Drug traffickers need to know that law enforcement in this area is committed to stopping the flow of all illegal drugs in Montgomery County — whether that poison is significant quantities of methamphetamine, heroin/fentanyl or other drugs,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. “The investigation resulting in these five arrests shut off a significant pipeline for methamphetamine to the entire Southeastern Pennsylvania region, and our communities are safer for it.”
All five suspects are currently being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and awaiting a preliminary hearing on May 11.
