14 men charged with running open-air drug market in West Baltimore's Penn North
More than a dozen men are facing charges for allegedly operating an open-air drug market in West Baltimore, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
The group is accused of selling fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine at "open-air drug street shops" in the 1800 blocks of North Carey and Woodyear streets in Penn North, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes. They also used residences to stash large quantities of the drugs, said Hayes.
"Illicit drug activity, whether in an open-air market or elsewhere, threatens public safety and has no place in our communities," Hayes said Friday in a news conference announcing the arrests.
Hayes said the U.S. attorney's office, along with ATF, the IRS, state, county and city law enforcement, made the arrests on July 29, executing 20 federal search warrants at residences and stash locations throughout Baltimore.
Investigators seized hundreds of grams of suspected fentanyl, hundreds of gel caps of suspected fentanyl, more than a kilo of suspected cocaine and more than six pounds of marijuana in the search. They also recovered seven firearms, more than 450 rounds of ammunition, 32 cellphones and approximately $15,000 in cash.
Hayes said the investigation began last December, and the accused sold drugs to confidential informants and undercover investigators while they were conducting surveillance.
In total, 14 men -- all from Baltimore -- are facing federal charges, including two who were already in state custody. The charges include conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, and aiding and abetting.
If convicted of the most serious counts, the men face up to 20 years in federal prison each. Some face up to 40 years for distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.
