A drug trafficking ring responsible for distributing drugs in Scranton has been dismantled, according to Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher.
Antoine Jamar McBride, 36, of Tobyhanna; Marquis C. McBride, 35, of Tobyhanna, and Denise Lateesh Raymond, 35, of Scranton, face charges of corrupt organization, along with 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 living in Pocono Country Place in Monroe County, where a “stash house” was used to store bulk quantities of drugs, cash and firearms.
Through surveillance, controlled purchases and other means, the Narcotics Unit of the county DA’s office and Pennsylvania State Police Troop R Vice Unit developed probable cause and executed multiple search warrants at properties in Lackawanna and Monroe counties, uncovering a coordinated operation that used runners, vehicles and communication networks to move drugs into the city, 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.
This case was built on collaboration between the state police Troop R Vice Unit, the DA’s Narcotics Unit, the Troop N Vice Unit, the PSP Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the PSP 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.