A routine traffic stop in Northwest Washington developed into a large two-year investigation that zigzagged across the United States before leading this week to the arrests of more than 24 suspects and the break up of a major PCP and heroin ring.
In the predawn hours Tuesday, more than 200 police officers and federal agents fanned out in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York, arresting 21 people and recovering more than 5 gallons of PCP, half a kilogram of heroin, 17 guns and about $355,000 in cash and seizing $145,000 in bank accounts.
Authorities said they dismantled a major organization of PCP traffickers, a drug that has made an alarming return to D.C. and has been a concern for law enforcement officials. The organization operated in at least 10 neighborhoods in the city.
“We can ill afford to allow PCP to make a comeback in our city,” U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor said. “This group of defendants is now out of business and others out there should take notice.”
Twenty-six people in all were indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin or PCP – or both. At the top of the indictment are Lonnell George Glover, 45, and Anthony Suggs, 39, based in the Washington area, and Velma “Mother” Williams, 59, who is based in St. Louis.
The trio arranged for the shipment of PCP from other areas of the country to distribute into the nation’s capital, authorities said.
Jennifer Smith Love, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, credited the coordination between local and federal authorities, a partnership that recently began calling itself Team D.C.
“There is power in partnership,” she said.
