A drug trafficking ring that distributed drugs in Scranton has been dismantled, according to the Lackawanna County district attorney.
Authorities charged Antoine Jamar McBride, 36, of Tobyhanna; Marquis C. McBride, 35, of Tobyhanna, and Denise Lateesh Raymond, 35, of Scranton, with corrupt organization and multiple felony offenses, including possession with intent to deliver and criminal conspiracy.
A coordinated, multiagency investigation discovered Antoine McBride was selling narcotics in Scranton while he lived in Pocono Country Place in Monroe County. A “stash house” in Monroe County stored bulk quantities of drugs, cash and firearms.
Through surveillance, controlled purchases and other means, the narcotics unit of the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office and state police Troop R vice unit developed probable cause and executed multiple search warrants at properties in Lackawanna and Monroe counties. They uncovered a coordinated operation that used runners, vehicles and communication networks to move drugs into the city, Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher said.
During multiple searches, law enforcement seized approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine, 179 grams of crack cocaine packaged for sale, 2 pounds of marijuana, more than $35,000 in drug proceeds, two firearms, and two vehicles used to facilitate the narcotics operation, including a BMW and Porsche.
The case was built on collaboration between the state police Troop R vice unit, the Lackawanna County district attorney’s narcotics unit, the Troop N vice unit, the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the state police Special Emergency Response Team and the Monroe County district attorney’s office.
“If you build your business on drugs and violence in Lackawanna County, we will dismantle it and take every dollar, every gun, and every asset that comes with it. This is what coordinated law enforcement looks like,” Gallagher said.