Ten people have been charged following the takedown of a Philadelphia-based drug trafficking organization, officials said.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf, FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel held a news conference to share details about the years-long investigation that resulted in the dismantling of the Jones-Basley drug trafficking organization, which prosecutors said distributed narcotics and cocaine supplied by Mexican cartels.
“This prosecution is not just of a drug trafficking network. It is the decapitation of a conspiracy to inject poison into our streets and ruin our communities through narcotics,” said Metcalf. “In an organizational sense, and in the context of a narcotic supply chain, you should think of this case as a prosecution of the principals, the executives, the leaders, the founders, the owners, whatever term you want to use, these are the men who cannot be replaced.”
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