My Philly Daily On Crime Column: From Tijuana With Love - Philly Street Gang Linked To Mexican Cartel

 Philly Daily ran my On Crime column today. 

You can read the column via the link below or the following text:

Paul Davis: From Tijuana With Love — Philadelphia Street Gang Linked to Mexican Cartel – Philly Daily

In 1957 Ian Fleming published his fifth James Bond novel, which I believe was his finest spy thriller.  

The novel depicted a clever and sinister plot by the Soviet spy agency SMERSH, known in Russian as Smertʹ Shpionam, or “Death To Spies.” SMERSH planned to murder Bond in a humiliating public spy scandal using a psychopathic killer. To get to Bond, SMERSH used the enticement of a beautiful Russian girl who offered to bring over to the British a top-secret decoding machine.

Although the spy thriller was his most serious novel, Fleming gave it a tongue-in-check title, From Russia With Love. 

After learning of a Philadelphia street gang’s connection with a Mexican cartel, I thought of Fleming and how the cartel providing cocaine to a Philly street gang should be called from From Tijuana with Love.

On September 23^rd at a news conference U.S. Attorney David Metcalf (seen in the above photo) announced the indictment and takedown of a major Philadelphia drug trafficking organization that resulted in the seizure locally of over $8 million in cocaine and multiple firearms.

“In total, along with partners in other districts, over $17 million in cocaine was seized over the course of the investigation,” Metcalf said. 

According to the indictment, 10 alleged members of the Jones-Basley Drug Trafficking Organization (“DTO”) were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and related offenses.

“Metcalf discussed the case alongside FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel.

“Literal truckloads of cocaine have been seized as a result of this case and kept from flooding our city,” said Metcalf. “Know that the investigation is ongoing and there will more arrests to come. We, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department are zeroing in on the drug traffickers and cartels poisoning our neighborhoods and communities.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacobs added, “Drug trafficking does not simply end with the transaction. Its impact can reach far beyond those involved in the criminal activity, threatening the safety and well-being of our neighborhoods, and putting families and communities at risk. No one agency can do this work alone. We appreciate our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for their diligent efforts in this investigation. We will continue working alongside them to identify those who bringing dangerous drugs into our city, take down the organizations behind this activity, and bring those responsible to justice.”

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel also weighed in, “This investigation is another example of what is possible when local and federal law enforcement work together with a shared mission. Drug trafficking organizations operating at this scale fuel violence, destabilize neighborhoods and cause tremendous harm in our communities. I am especially proud of the Philadelphia Police Department members assigned to this task force, whose work alongside our federal partners helped bring this investigation to this point. I want to thank U.S. Attorney Metcalf, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, the FBI, and every investigator and partner who contributed to this case. We will continue working shoulder-to-shoulder to disrupt these organizations, hold those responsible accountable and make Philadelphia safer.”

As alleged in the indictment, the Jones-Basley DTO, led by Gregory Jones, aka “Smallz,” 48, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Edward Basley, aka “Beeb,” 47, of Wayne, Pa., coordinated with a Mexican drug cartel to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to Philadelphia, with the DTO pushing between $5 million and $10 million dollars’ worth of cocaine onto the city’s streets every month.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) stated that Jones and Basley are both charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

In addition, Jones is charged with possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, and Basley with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

According to the USAO, if convicted, all the defendants face maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment.

“This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad,” the USAO explained. “Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.” 

The USAO noted that HSTF Philadelphia is co-led by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, and partner agencies include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Trump Administration is dead serious about illegal drug entering our country, from federal law enforcement task forces in Philadelphia and other cities, to the U.S. Navy sinking boats carrying deadly drugs at sea.

President Trump also authorized U.S. Special Operations to launch “Operation Absolute Resolve” last January. U.S. forces entered Venezuela and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Madura. The Venezuelan strongman was indicted on U.S. federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and other federal charges.

Paul Davis’s On Crime column appears here each week. He is also a contributor to Counterterrorism magazine. He can be reached via pauldavisoncrime.com.