Federal authorities say they’ve busted a marijuana-trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of the drug throughout the D.C. area.
Eighteen people have been charged in the case, according to documents filed in federal court in Alexandria. A criminal complaint says the drug ring has operated since 2005 and has generated at least $2 million in profits.
Prosecutors said the ring was uncovered when Moatez Masoud was arrested in Alexandria last January. While in custody, he allegedly called other conspirators to make sure they continued dealing marijuana. Masoud is also charged in the new case.
Prosecutors identified 46-year-old Anthony Guidry Sr. as the ring’s leader and 22-year-old James Cutri, of Springfield, as the leader of the distribution network in Virginia and West Virginia.
The dealers recruited distributors in cities and on college campuses in Virginia, Georgia, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to court records.
“We have dismantled a significant, national drug ring that allegedly made millions trafficking marijuana and recruited college athletes to target fellow students for drug sales,” U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia Neil MacBride said in a statement. “Distributors often rely on guns and physical violence to enforce debts and ensure the success of their business, allured by the potential for significant profit peddling contraband.”
