PHILADELPHIA – At a news conference this morning, United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the indictment and takedown of a major Philadelphia drug trafficking organization, resulting in the seizure locally of over $8 million in cocaine and multiple firearms. In total, along with partners in other districts, over $17 million in cocaine was seized over the course of the investigation. The indictment charges 10 alleged members of the Jones-Basley Drug Trafficking Organization (“DTO”) with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and related offenses.
U.S. Attorney Metcalf discussed the case today alongside FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel.
“Literal truckloads of cocaine have been seized as a result of this case and kept from flooding our city,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Know that the investigation is ongoing and there will more arrests to come. We, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department are zeroing in on the drug traffickers and cartels poisoning our neighborhoods and communities.”
“Drug trafficking does not simply end with the transaction. Its impact can reach far beyond those involved in the criminal activity, threatening the safety and well-being of our neighborhoods, and putting families and communities at risk,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “No one agency can do this work alone. We appreciate our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for their diligent efforts in this investigation. We will continue working alongside them to identify those who bringing dangerous drugs into our city, take down the organizations behind this activity, and bring those responsible to justice.”
“This investigation is another example of what is possible when local and federal law enforcement work together with a shared mission,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “Drug trafficking organizations operating at this scale fuel violence, destabilize neighborhoods and cause tremendous harm in our communities. I am especially proud of the Philadelphia Police Department members assigned to this task force, whose work alongside our federal partners helped bring this investigation to this point. I want to thank U.S. Attorney Metcalf, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, the FBI, and every investigator and partner who contributed to this case. We will continue working shoulder-to-shoulder to disrupt these organizations, hold those responsible accountable and make Philadelphia safer.”
As alleged in the indictment, the Jones-Basley DTO, led by Gregory Jones, aka “Smallz,” 48, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Edward Basley, aka “Beeb,” 47, of Wayne, Pa., coordinated with a Mexican drug cartel to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to Philadelphia, with the DTO pushing between $5 million and $10 million dollars’ worth of cocaine onto the city’s streets every month.
Jones and Basley are both charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
In addition, Jones is charged with possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, and Basley with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Their eight co-defendants — Shawn Bell, 54, of Cheltenham, Pa., Jabari Savage, 46, Renard Brown, 43, Jermaine Singleton, 52, Farid Haddad, 48, and David McField, 43, all of Philadelphia, Orenthial Bailey, 50, of Temple, Texas, and Eduard Amador, 38, of Manassas, Virginia — are charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The indictment alleges that they are active members or associates of the Jones-Basley DTO.
Five defendants were arrested by the FBI in coordinated operations yesterday. Five defendants were already in state or federal custody.
If convicted, all the defendants face maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Philadelphia is co-led by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, and partner agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Probation Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Delaware State Police, Maryland State Police, and Virginia State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Stram and Christopher Parisi.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.