Ten charges against drug ring in northeast Baltimore

Ten people have been charged with involvement with a drug trafficking organization in northeast Baltimore, the city's district attorney's office said in a press release.

According to a news release from the district attorney's office, police in February began investigating a group known as “4200” that sold cocaine, heroin and fentanyl near the 4300 block of Belair Road in Belair-Parkside and the 4200 block of Nicholas Avenue in Belair-Edison. Two men were charged in June with trafficking heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, according to the indictment. The charges against most of the defendants were not available in court records Monday.

Police executed a search warrant at a Royal Tobacco & Grocery store on Belair Road and charged a store employee who lived in an apartment above the store, the news release said. At the store, as well as four nearby homes and homes in northeast and east Baltimore, officers seized nine weapons, including an AR-style rifle, ammunition, 200 grams of heroin and fentanyl, and 120 grams of cocaine, according to the news release. Police also searched a residence in Gwynn Oak in Baltimore County and found cocaine and fentanyl, court documents show.

“This investigation secured the prosecution of 10 individuals who terrorized the surrounding community and threatened the safety and well-being of countless families. The arrest is the result of a coordinated effort by our office, law enforcement, city government and community members, all of whom are committed to removing dangerous drugs and criminals from our streets,” District Attorney Ivan Bates said in the press release.