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Fetty Wap And 5 Others Accused Of Running Multi-Million Dollar Drug Trafficking Ring
Fetty Wap and five others, including a corrections officer, are accused of using postal workers to transfer heroin and fentanyl across the country.
Rapper Fetty Wap and five others have been indicted on a federal drug trafficking conspiracy charge for allegedly running a major drug trafficking ring based in New York, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.
Fetty Wap, born Willie Junior Maxwell II, was arrested on Thursday at CitiField in New York, where he was gearing up to perform at the three-day hip hop music festival Rolling Loud, the New York Times reported. He was charged and indicted on one federal count of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances.
Four other men were arrested in connection with the alleged trafficking ring. New Jersey correction officer Anthony Cyntje, Brian Sullivan, Kavaughn Wiggins, and Anthony Leonardi and Robert Leonardi, who are brothers, were also all indicted on the same charge, plus an additional count of use of firearms in connection with the alleged ring, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
“As alleged, the defendants transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives,” United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in the press release.
For one year beginning in June 2019, the defendants are accused of distributing more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine in both Long Island and New Jersey. Investigators believe the drugs came from the West Coast and that some United States Postal Service drivers were utilized to transfer the drugs in hidden vehicle compartments. Guns were allegedly used to traffic the drugs, the DOJ said.
“The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become. I want to commend the work of our Long Island Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners for working day in and day out to get these deadly drugs off our streets,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll stated.
The alleged operation has been described as a “multimillion-dollar bicoastal drug distribution organization.” Long Island’s Suffolk County was its home base, according to the Justice Department.
It’s not clear if the rapper, known for his 2015 hit “Trap Queen,” has an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Maxwell was previously arrested in 2019 for allegedly assaulting multiple employees at a Las Vegas hotel. In 2016, he was arrested by New Jersey police after a traffic stop; in turn, he brought about $175,000 in cash into court to pay fines, CNN reported at the time.
