Twenty-Five Charged in Indictment Targeting Philadelphia Drug Trafficking Organization

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Twenty-five people have been charged in a case targeting a Philadelphia-based organization that was supplying large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine to North Central West Virginia.

United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced the unsealing of an indictment and the arrests of individuals in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia on drug trafficking charges. According to court documents, Rodney Johnson, age 46, of Philadelphia, was the leader of a group that was supplying significant quantities of illicit drugs to Monongalia County. The organization’s members utilized apartments in Morgantown in which to reside and store their drugs.

“The indictment and subsequent arrests have led to the dismantling of a sophisticated operation that was causing large quantities of dangerous drugs to be distributed in our region,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “The work of our agents and prosecutors in this matter has made our communities safer and shows the reach that we have when it comes to the disruption of drug trafficking.”

“I want to highlight the collective efforts of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to dismantle a criminal enterprise who was intent on flooding our communities with this poison,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. “An investigation of this size requires partnership and teamwork. The result of this operation is a testament to the power of partnership and the FBI’s commitment to curb violence in our communities.”

Law enforcement arrested 22 people in a coordinated effort across the four states. Investigators are still searching for:

• Rodney Johnson, age 46, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Ryan Shaw, age 27, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Rasheab Bradsher, age 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

This case was investigated by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The task force consists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia State Police; the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office; the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; the Morgantown Police Department; the WVU Police Department; the Granville Police Department; and the Star City Police Department.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

List of defendants: www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/defendants-charged-us-v-johnson-et-al