The Department of Justice announced that it charged 10 Chicago residents after a drug trafficking investigation, accusing them of distributing "fentanyl-laced heroin and crack cocaine."
The Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office announced the charges on Thursday and said that during the "multi-year probe," law enforcement officers seized "more than a kilogram of narcotics, as well as 13 firearms and more than $40,000 in suspected illicit proceeds."
According to the Justice Department, the individuals were allegedly conspiring to distribute "at least" 35 kilograms of "fentanyl-laced heroin and crack cocaine" on Chicago's West Side.
Carlos James, 46; Samuel Brooks, 71; Paurice Rose, 46; Donald Williams, 34; Vashon James, 39; David Lamb, 56; Felicia Singleton, 57; Thomas Birt, 54; Avis Knight, 54; and Haydee Cano, 46, were charged with a federal drug conspiracy.
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Brooks was also charged with illegally possessing a handgun as he is a previously convicted felon.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division and the Chicago Police Department were involved in the investigation, which included wiretapping communications from the suspects.
"The investigation, led by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and Chicago Police Department, utilized covert surveillance operations, controlled narcotics purchases, and wiretapped communications to shut down the defendants’ drug trafficking activities, which were centered mainly in Chicago’s North Austin neighborhood," the press release states.
In an unsealed criminal complaint, prosecutors allege that James was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that allegedly distributed "35 kilograms of fentanyl-laced heroin and at least 1.1 kilograms of crack cocaine" between April 2021 to August 2022.
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James also allegedly "worked with Rose and Williams to prepare and package the drugs for distribution on the street," the complaint reads.
According to court documents, the alleged drug trafficking organization used several "stash houses" around Chicago to store "the narcotics and the cash proceeds."
Brooks was the "street-level manager of the organization" who provided "narcotics to Lamb, Singleton, Birt, Knight, and Cano to sell to customers on the street," according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also allege that James prepared the crack cocaine and "collected the proceeds after the sales."
