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17 Arrested in North Philly Drug Ring Run From Sham Coffee Shop

The coordinated sweep signals a push to dismantle entire networks rather than target street-level dealers.

Overview

  • State and local agencies dismantled what they call a long-running trafficking group after raids at about 30 sites across Philadelphia, Delaware County, and New Jersey last week.
  • Prosecutors charged 17 suspects linked to the Louis Alexander Drug Trafficking Organization, with cases handled by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
  • Alleged leader Louis Alexander, 56, was arraigned and jailed on $750,000 bail following the coordinated arrests.
  • Investigators seized more than four pounds of cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, ecstasy, about 130 pounds of marijuana, cash, drug gear, and 27 firearms.
  • Authorities say the group used Cumberland Coffee & Snacks as a front where crack was cooked upstairs and sales happened downstairs, and they are still probing suspected links to violent crimes known in the area for well over a decade.