Four People Were Arrested for Reportedly Moving $5 Million Worth of Drugs From California to Pennsylvania
Four men were arrested by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office on charges that they brought coke and methamphetamine from California to Pennsylvania for millions of dollars.
According to District Attorney Jen Schorn, Matthew James Byrne, 43, of Broomall, Joseph Byrne, 47, of Levittown, Khalik Kemp, 34, of Philadelphia, and Christian Garwood, 55, of Flourtown are all part of the “Byrne Drug Trafficking Organization.” They were named at a press meeting.
Police say that Matthew Byrne was in charge of the group that sent drugs worth more than $5 million from coast to coast.
Investigators say that things like speakers were used to hide the drugs while they were being sent through the mail.
“The drug trafficking organization would ship roughly in each shipment approximately 25 to 30 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine by hiding them inside of large karaoke style Bluetooth speakers,” Schorn said.
According to investigators, Matthew Byrne went to Southern California at least twice a month since January and bought cocaine and methamphetamine from drug dealers with ties to Mexico. He would stay there for two to three days.
He is then said to have sent the drugs to two homes in Flourtown, Montgomery County, and to his brother’s house on Gable Hill Road in Bristol, Bucks County.
“Those shipments would be received by their counterparts in Bucks and Montgomery counties and would later be prepared for distribution to individuals in our community,” said Schorn.
The investigation took place while three packages were being held up at a USPS facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
The police said that drugs worth almost $1.2 million were hidden in speakers.
Investigators said they tracked 12 packages to places in Bristol Township and Montgomery County. These shipments were said to have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs that were meant to be sold on the streets.
Schorn said, “We can put the pieces together.” “These drugs were getting into the hands of users shortly after being prepped for distribution in Bucks County and Montgomery County.”
The four suspects, all of whom live in Pennsylvania, were charged with a number of crimes on Monday, including working with corrupt organizations and having a controlled substance with the plan to sell it.
Two more guys from California were also charged. Their names are Ralph Brooks, 42, of Los Angeles and Chaz Harness-Walker, 40, of Inglewood.
However, they have not been caught yet.
Authorities said that the investigation, which involved state, local, and federal authorities from several areas, was still going on as they tried to figure out what the whole operation was about.
Agent Spiros Karabinas, who is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Philadelphia, said that the investigation’s results should serve as a warning to bad people that drug law enforcement is a top priority.
“We will continue to work vigorously to prevent them from being trafficked, distributed and ultimately sold throughout our communities,” he said.
All four suspects from Pennsylvania were sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on bail that ranged from $1 million to $5 million.