BREAKING: Largest Drug Ring in Wicomico Co. History Busted
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Law enforcement agencies announced the largest cocaine bust in the history of Wicomico County on Tuesday morning.
After a 15-month investigation, involving the Wicomico and Worcester County Sheriff’s Offices, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Governor’s Office for Crime Prevention, and several other agencies announced the arrest of a dozen people connected to a historic drug ring. Police say the drug trafficking operation was distributing narcotics throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as Baltimore, and the lower region of Delaware. Officials report over 40 kilograms of cocaine, 36 fentanyl pills, 11 firearms, and more than $23,000 seized from the trafficking operation.
Wicomico Sheriff Mike Lewis says this is the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of Wicomico County. Cocaine bricks were concealed in transmission oil, mustard, petroleum jelly, and other substances to avoid K-9 detection.
“The cocaine obviously has tentacles. It goes everywhere. That’s why the investigation commenced in Worcester. So clearly, the drugs that were being offloaded here, in Wicomico County were headed in towards Worcester county because this investigation was commenced by the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocean City Police Department reached out to us…” says Sheriff Lewis.
Worcester County Sheriff Matt Crisafulli says that what began as drug investigation in Worcester County culminated in Worcester County authorities working with the Wicomico County Action Team, along with federal, state, and local partners to conduct the arrests.
The Worcester County Sheriff adds, “Seizure of this poison that would have been peddled into all of our respective communities; think about the devastating effect that that would have had with overdoses and the continued addictions that we see.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore was at the press conference about the bust, saying this is a big win for communities across Maryland, removing both drugs and guns off the streets of the Eastern Shore.
“This is what happens when we prioritize results, and this is why our administration is backing success with the largest law enforcement investment in the history of the State of Maryland,” Governor Moore said in a statement.
The Maryland Governor added during the news conference, “This happened because coordination was there and coordination was imperative. It happened because the feds and state local community partners chose to work together.”
While a dozen arrests have been made in this drug trafficking operation, there is still one man, La’Quan Alexander Townsend, who has not been caught by law enforcement. Records show that one of the men arrested is being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detainer. Sheriff Lewis said the man, identified as Reinaldo Soto Ramos, is a Guatemalan national illegally residing in the United States. Five of the arrested individuals have been released on bond or on their own recognizance.
WMDT will have updates on this story.
