The FBI announced on Friday that 33 people had been indicted as a result of a raid on the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization in Kensington, Philadelphia.
Authorities apprehended twenty-four alleged members Friday morning after issuing dozens of search warrants. Eight defendants were already in custody, with one still at large, according to officials.
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According to David Metcalf, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the charge was a vast drug trafficking conspiracy that lasted over a decade and involved “tremendous” amounts of fentanyl and other opioids.
He went on to explain that this is the largest federal indictment brought in his jurisdiction this century.
“And like a precision missile, it has been targeted for maximum impact where it needed to go… the heart of the opioid scourge here in Kensington,” Metcalf said.
Metcalf also announced the recovery of dozens of guns.
The suspected kingpin, 45-year-old Jose Antonio Morales Nieves, also known as “Flaco,” of Puerto Rico, reportedly authorized other members of the group to sell drugs on his block in exchange for “rent,” according to the US Attorney’s Office.
“Morales Nieves helps protect the members of the DTO through the threat of violent acts, performed either by himself or his associates, against others who have caused the Weymouth DTO harm or attempted to sell controlled substances in the DTO’s territory,” Metcalf said.
The street-level operations were allegedly managed by Ramon Roman-Montanez, alias “Viejo,” a 40-year-old Philadelphia resident.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, he was in charge of creating the drug shift schedule, determining who would be responsible for selling drugs at what times and on what days, managing proceeds, and getting additional controlled substances.
Nancy Rios-Valentin, 33, of Philadelphia, is also charged with coordinating the drug shift schedule, as well as managing and preserving drug proceeds.
Chopper 6 flew overhead as police officers and FBI investigators swarmed Weymouth Street near Allegheny Avenue.
Investigators could be seen entering and exiting a residence on the 3100 block of Weymouth St.
“We have permanently removed a drug trafficking organization out of the streets of Philadelphia, and they’re going to stop pouring guns and chemicals and drugs into our communities,” FBI Director Kash Patel said during the news conference. “And our children are safer today.”
Metcalf claimed that the suspected executives ran the drug trafficking operation like a successful business.
“This indictment alleges that the Weymouth Street drug trafficking organization, for nearly a decade, sold and distributed substantial volumes of fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin, mostly in the 3100 block of Weymouth Street. They made their living in one of the most notorious and prolific segments of an open-air drug market here in Kensington,” he said.
Metcalf told locals that this is only the beginning of local, state, and federal partners working together to dismantle the narcotics network.
Rosalind Pichardo was born and raised in Kensington and now works with people struggling with addiction.
“It’s great that people got arrested for putting this poison out on the street and causing a lot of overdoses,” she said.
If the prosecution is successful, the case will mark the “long-term annihilation” of the gang.
Wayne Jacobs, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia office, asserted that the gang exerted absolute control over the neighborhood.
“The vast majority of our actions were concentrated right here in Kensington, where this organization devastated the community, fueled violence and spread fear among residents for nearly a decade,” he said.
The FBI also said Friday that it will place public service advertisements on billboards to encourage people to report other drug crimes.
