Drug trafficking organization operating out of Philadelphia coffee shop busted, authorities say
A drug trafficking organization operating out of a coffee shop in North Philadelphia and serving as a "menace" to the community for at least a decade has been busted, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general and police.
Seventeen members of "The Louis Alexander Drug Trafficking Organization" were arrested last week and face charges including felony corrupt organizations, drug trafficking and the illegal possession of firearms, Attorney General Dave Sunday said Wednesday.
Louis Alexander and 15 other members were arrested last week as police executed about 30 search warrants in North Philadelphia, other parts of the city, Delaware County and New Jersey, Sunday said. The 17th member turned themselves in Friday. Sunday said some of the suspects are in their 50s, 60s and 70s.
"Many of these defendants have been at this for a very long time," Sunday said. "They were menaces to society, to people and families who just want to live free without concern for violence and crime in their everyday life. This criminal organization deprived them of that peace of mind."
The drug trafficking enterprise used a coffee shop called Cumberland Coffee and Snacks at the corner of West Cumberland and North Cleveland streets as a front for the organization, Sunday said. He said the organization considered the areas around North 18th and West Cumberland streets its "turf for many years."
Investigators said Alexander and his crew sold drugs out of the coffee shop, cooked and packaged drugs on the second floor of the building and stockpiled guns. They said cocaine and crack cocaine were the "drug of choice" — four pounds of cocaine was seized — but they also found fentanyl, marijuana and ecstasy, 27 guns and thousands of dollars in cash during the search warrants.
Sunday said the coffee shop did not have a cash register.
Michael Barry, a prosecutor in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General who has been investigating the organization as far back as 2011, said during the execution of the search warrants, law enforcement didn't see any coffee pots inside the coffee shop but did find some snacks and sodas. He added that investigators also searched a nearby barbershop and bar, showing the reach the group had in the community.
Barry said people in the neighborhood would walk past the coffee shop, which he claimed was an indication that the neighborhood knew what was going on inside.
Authorities said the organization also sold drugs on the streets and each member had a specific role. They said some members were street dealers, others were suppliers, and others collected money.
Sunday said the investigation remains ongoing and did not specify how the guns were used during the operation.
Alexander is being held on $750,000 bail and defendants who were on parole and probation will face additional punishment, Sunday said.
Agencies involved in the investigation include the Pennsylvania State Police, Philadelphia Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.
