Eight D.C. area residents have been charged in a drug conspiracy involving cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and PCP, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Seven of those suspects were arrested on Wednesday.
All eight men were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to administer at least 500 grams of cocaine, 100 grams of heroin, 40 grams of fentanyl and one kilogram of PCP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said.
Two men charged are from D.C.: Charles Cunningham, 56, and Tyrone Ragland, 54. The other six men are from Prince George’s County, Maryland: Jimmy Davis, 41, of Bowie; Melvin Grayson, 49, of District Heights; James Kinard, 45, of Temple Hills; Terrell Washington, 43, of Hyattsville, and Kenneth Watts, 55, of Upper Marlboro.
According to a press release, officials found at least eight firearms (including a ghost gun), ammunition, drugs, drug paraphernalia and at least $60,000 in cash during the arrests and searches of multiple residences.
“The organizations peddling poison on our streets and in our communities need to know that they are on the radar of law enforcement and we intend to put them out of business,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in a statement. “Neither the drugs these groups spread nor the violence their operations attract will be tolerated.”
D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee commended law enforcement on their work “to hold people accountable for committing crimes in the District of Columbia.”
“This investigation is yet another example of how local, regional, and federal law enforcement partners are making the region safer,” Contee said.
The announcement followed reports of at least 100 arrests and federal indictments for drug crimes across the country.