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17 Charged as North Philly Drug Ring Using Coffee Shop Front Is Dismantled

The multi‑agency strategy targets an entrenched enterprise to curb related violence.

Overview

  • Authorities executed roughly 30 warrants across Philadelphia, Delaware County and New Jersey last week in what they called Operation Cocaine and Coffee.
  • Prosecutors charged 17 suspected members of the Louis Alexander Drug Trafficking Organization after the raids.
  • Investigators say a storefront called Cumberland Coffee & Snacks served as the hub, with crack cooked upstairs and sales on the ground floor and nearby streets.
  • Seizures included about four pounds of cocaine, more than 130 pounds of marijuana, fentanyl, ecstasy, cash and 27 firearms.
  • Alleged leader Louis Alexander, 56, is jailed on $750,000 bail as the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office takes the cases forward and examines whether the seized guns tie to violent crimes.