BALTIMORE – Fourteen people were arrested on Wednesday in a large-scale drug and gun bust throughout Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City.
During the operation – which involved over 500 officers, agents and personnel from federal, state and local agencies – law enforcement seized distribution levels of narcotics including cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone, one shotgun, three handguns, nearly $40,000 in cash and drug paraphernalia.
“This operation is yet another example of how the teamwork among our law enforcement partners is stronger than ever,” said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, “If we work together, with our community-based partners, our neighborhoods will be safe and secure.”
“Thanks to diligent and comprehensive investigative work by the FBI’s Annapolis Safe Streets Task Force, a significant drug trafficking organization has been dismantled,” said William J. DelBagno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “In a coordinated effort across three jurisdictions, the FBI and our law enforcement partners worked seamlessly to thwart the capabilities of this criminal enterprise that profited from peddling poison within our communities. We are working hard to identify and stop the most violent offenders and facilitators.”
14 people were arrested. 11 of the 14 are facing federal charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances. Additional charges could follow.
A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI-Baltimore Field Office, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County with the assistance of FBI national and regional assets, the Annapolis Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Baltimore Police Department, Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Maryland Army National Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Marshals Service. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett and Jonathan Tsuei, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
