By Ariyana Griffin | AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com
On Nov. 25, officials on the federal, state and local levels convened at Baltimore Police Department headquarters to announce a significant drug takedown. The operation, part of the “Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), was titled “Operation Tornado Alley” and successfully dismantled four individual crime organizations wreaking havoc in the southwest Baltimore area.
The combined efforts of the Mayor’s Office, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other agencies resulted in the largest drug trafficking bust in recent years, underscoring the significant impact of this operation.
“We will not tolerate violence or behaviors that lend themselves to future violence like drug trafficking and carrying illegal guns,” said Baltimore City Mayor M. Brandon Scott. “Together, we are sending and sharing a unified message that if you make the choice to engage in these activities associated with crime and violence, there will be swift and certain consequences for your actions.”
The investigation, spearheaded by the GVRS, led to the indictment of 38 individuals on drug trafficking and firearm charges from three major drug busts.
Maryland State’s Attorney, Ivan J. Bates emphasized the importance of the collaboration with US Attorney Erek L. Barron. This partnership was crucial in providing the necessary resources for the drug bust, including wiretapping over six months and the surveillance of four key areas: 2000 W. Pratt Street, 500 Millington Avenue, 2800 Edmondson Avenue and 1700 Lemmon Street, which were under constant watch 24/7.
“Having this wire allowed us to look at other significant members of the organizations – we followed multiple targets obtaining evidence to support wiretaps for every criminal or enterprise that was identified,” said Bates. “We were able to connect how each of them was related to one another we identified targets who plan to impact violence on a mass level but as a result of proactive investigation numerate violent incidents were prevented.”
Jared Forget, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Washington Division, stated that during “the course of this nearly year-long investigation, law enforcement recovered over seven kilograms of cocaine, three kilograms of fentanyl heroin mixture, 110 lbs. of cannabis and nearly $400,000 in cash believed to be derived from the sale of Narcotics.”
Guns equipped with additions to allow for automatic discharge and 15 automobiles were also seized.
“The individuals involved in this investigation range from the age of 16 to 61 they’ve been arrested more than 220 times and 12 of them are repeat offenders – 15 of them are still at large,” said Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department.
Officials have explained that this will not be the last of the collaboration and will continue the work to ensure that the communities involved in the bust are not filled with other offenders.
