Eight People Charged In Takedown Of Camden Drug Trafficking Organization

CAMDEN, N.J. - Federal and local law enforcement authorities arrested five people this morning and charged three others for their alleged roles in a crack cocaine and heroin trafficking organization operating in Camden, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jason Boyd, 36, Preston Thomas, 30, Julian Dickerson, 24, Derek Stallworth, 20, and Tony Wilson, 24, all of Camden, were arrested today and charged by complaint with drug trafficking conspiracy. They appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden federal court and were detained.

Joseph Boyd, 31, of Camden, Jeffrey Whitaker, 32, of Collingswood, New Jersey, and Nafeez Griffin, 30, of Camden – all of whom are presently incarcerated on other charges – were also charged with drug trafficking conspiracy and will have their initial appearances at a later date.

According to the complaints:

The defendants are members of a drug trafficking organization that, from November, 2015 through September 2016, dealt crack cocaine and heroin in and around Camden, with criminal activities concentrated on the 1100 block of Lansdowne Avenue. Joseph Boyd, Jason Boyd, and Thomas are the alleged leaders and managers of the operation. Whitaker, Stallworth, Wilson, Dickerson, and Griffin staffed the block during assigned shifts and distributed drugs to customers who approached on foot and in vehicles.

The arrests and charges are the result of an investigation that began in late 2015 and involved controlled purchases of crack cocaine and heroin and multiple authorized wiretaps of phones used by members of the conspiracy.

The drug trafficking conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief J. Scott Thomson; the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo; and the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Rick Fuentes, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Camden County Sheriff’s Department, the Cherry Hill Police Department, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.