PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal officials and Philadelphia police announced they have taken more than $17 million worth of cocaine off the streets and 10 people into custody as part of a years-long drug takedown.
Authorities said 48-year-old Gregory Jones, of Philadelphia, and 47-year-old Edward Basely, of Wayne, were at the top of the operation, pushing about $5 million to $10 million worth of cocaine every month to Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Prosecutors said they transported the drugs from the Mexican border in tractor-trailers.
U.S. Attorney Dave Metcalf said, “In late May, the Tennessee Highway Patrol stopped a truck outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, driven by a co-defendant, Mr. Bailey, and this truck contained approximately 89 kilograms — almost 200 pounds — of cocaine. That was destined for Philadelphia.”
The feds and police have been investigating the crew for the last three years or so, and they said they have seized several guns and $17 million worth of cocaine in all.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
“These men were professional narco traffickers,” Metcalf said. “They’re seasoned and sophisticated. They are not amateurs. These aren’t young men. As we allege, these are experienced drug dealers in the illicit narcotics trade who have been doing it now for decades.”
Metcalf, a President Donald Trump appointee, noted that Jones and Basely were prosecuted for the same crimes in the late 2000s and were sent to prison for years, but in 2022, President Joe Biden commuted their sentences.
“Rather than turn away from the criminal past to a lawful and prosperous future, they turned back to the illicit narcotics trade and the power and money that it gave them,” said Metcalf.
Jones and Basely face several federal drug charges.
The other eight defendants face drug conspiracy offenses. They are 54-year-old Shawn Bell, of Cheltenham; 46-year-old Jabari Savage, 43-year-old Renard Brown, 52-year-old Jermaine Singleton, 48-year-old Farid Haddad, and 43-year-old David McField, all of Philadelphia; 50-year-old Orenthial Bailey, of Temple, Texas; and 38-year-old Eduard Amador, of Manassas, Virginia.
