Members of Philadelphia cocaine trafficking ring, supplied by Mexican cartel, indicted, FBI announces

The FBI announced the indictment of 10 people accused of running a "prolific" cocaine trafficking organization operating in Philadelphia during a press conference on Wednesday. 

Federal officials charged 48-year-old Gregory Jones, aka "Smallz," of Philadelphia and 47-year-old Edward Basley, aka "Beeb," of Wayne, Pennsylvania, as the accused leaders of the Jones-Basley drug trafficking organization.

Eight members and associates of the organization were also charged: Shawn Bell, 54, of Cheltenham; Orenthial Bailey, 50, of Temple, Texas; Eduard Amador, 38, of Manassas, Virginia; and Jabari Savage, 46; Renard Brown, 43; Jermaine Singleton, 52; Farid Haddad, 48; and David McField, 43, all of Philadelphia.

Jones and Basley are both charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute drugs. Jones is also charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school. Basley also faces gun charges.

Five of the 10 people charged were arrested by the FBI on Tuesday, while the other five were already in state or federal custody.

The charges stem from an alleged trafficking ring that operated in Philadelphia from 2024 through 2026.

Authorities said more than $8 million in cocaine and multiple firearms were seized in Philadelphia. In total, more than $17 million in cocaine was seized over the course of the investigation.

Authorities said the Jones-Basley organization obtained more than 300 kilograms of cocaine directly from a cartel in Mexico and delivered it largely from the Texas-Mexico border to Philadelphia. The organization moved between $5 million and $10 million worth of cocaine each month, prosecutors said.

"These are apex suppliers," David Metcalf, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said. "Literal truckloads of cocaine have been seized as a result of this case and kept from flooding our city."

Metcalf said members of the organization have been trafficking drugs for decades. Nearly all of the men were previously convicted of drug trafficking in the 2000s, but their sentences were reduced.

If convicted, all members face possible life sentences.

Prosecutors said more arrests are possible.