Seven People Arrested in Connection with Camden Drug Ring
Seven Alleged Members and Supplier of Drug Trafficking Organization Charged

CAMDEN, NJ—Agents of the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, and detectives and investigators of the Camden Police Department and Camden County Prosecutor’s Office arrested seven people this morning for their alleged involvement with an illegal drug trafficking operation in Camden, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

The arrests deal a significant blow to a drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly headed by Carl Wiles, a/k/a “Call Call,” 23, of Camden, which operated in the area of Eighth and Tulip streets in the Morgan Village section of Camden. This DTO allegedly sold heroin, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine to customers who arrived on foot and by car and who called ahead for service. The arrests of seven of the eight people charged today include all levels of the DTO, from Wiles himself to one of his primary suppliers to lower level managers and workers. Drugs, weapons, ammunition, and cash were seized during the arrests, including seven firearms recovered at the residence where Wiles was arrested. The defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden federal court.

“The defendants in this case operated a well-organized, open-air drug market 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for at least a year,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “This prosecution confirms that all of us in law enforcement remain fully committed to improving the quality of life for the people who live in this neighborhood.”

“Dismantling violent gangs is a continuing priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners,” Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, said. “Today’s arrests are the result of a lengthy investigation by the South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force and are an important step toward reclaiming the city of Camden from the thugs who have run its streets for far too long.”

Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said, “These arrests are another example of the cooperative effort among all the law enforcement agencies operating in the city of Camden. Every success in this city stems from these kinds of cooperative efforts.”

“This violent gang has flagrantly terrorized our already challenged city for far too long,” said Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson. “Let today’s arrest send a very loud and very clear message to criminals that law enforcement at every level will aggressively target and remove them from the streets with our dynamic C4 [Camden County Crime Commission] initiative.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The organization controlled an area that includes the area of Eighth and Tulip streets, a retail shopping plaza in the 700 block of Morgan Boulevard, and areas within the Crestbury Apartments public housing project, located in the 2500 block of South Eighth Street.

An investigation using surveillance, confidential informants, controlled drug purchases, record checks, and telephone wiretaps revealed that the Carl Wiles DTO acquired and distributed heroin, crack, and powder cocaine; maintained various stash houses; and rented cars to conduct drug-related business. Wiles and Pulliam handled call-in customers personally and also directed customers to be served at 8th and Tulip streets. Intercepted conversations and surveillance established that Jackson resupplied Wiles when the organization ran low on heroin.

Intercepted telephone conversations and controlled drug buys reveal that the Wiles DTO used a color-coding based upon the uniform colors of professional sports teams to refer to the different narcotics it sold. Crack cocaine was packaged in blue-colored bags (“Giants”). Powder cocaine was sold in clear bags and referred to as “White Sox,” “clear,” or “white.” Heroin was sold over time in red bags (“Redskins”), yellow bags (“Steelers”), and green bags (“Green Bay” or “Jets”). The narcotics were sold in individual user amounts as well as in re-distribution amounts (bundles), with a heroin bundle typically consisting of 10 to 12 individual bags and a crack bundle containing approximately 40 individual bags.

The investigation further established that Wiles led the organization, with managers Fuquan Pulliam and Kahlil Mims overseeing the workers, William Gideon, Justin Gould, Marqueis Thomas-Randall, Elquinzie Lewis, and others. Intercepted calls reveal not only how the operation was supplied and proceeds collected, but also Wiles’ leadership role. He was intercepted discussing with Pulliam replacing a worker and chastising DTO members for missing customers by moving too slowly, miscounting or not being out on the street enough. In one conversation, Wiles told a worker: “My thing is loyalty. You rolling with us, you got loyalty. You all right. You rolling with us that mean everybody you see got your back a hundred percent, like that’s what I mean by loyalty. It’s bigger than what’s just going on.”

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Cherry Hill, New Jersey Resident Agency-Philadelphia Division and the South Jersey Violent Offender and Gang Task Force, under the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge Hanko; the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Faulk; the Camden City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Thomson; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Rick Fuentes; and the Camden Collaborative Crime Commission (C4), with the investigation leading to today’s arrests. He also thanked the Philadelphia Police Department, the New Jersey Parole Board; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice; the Voorhees Police Department; the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office; the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office; the Camden County Sheriff’s Office; the Woodbury Police Department; and the Pennsauken Police Department for their roles in the case.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ira M. Slovin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

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

This case was developed through the work of the Camden Collaborative Crime Commission (C4). Every federal, state, and local law enforcement agency and prosecutor’s office responsible for combating drug trafficking, gang activity and violent crime in Camden has come together in one location to share intelligence, develop investigative strategies, and support the investigative and prosecutorial efforts of its partners. C4 has merged the individual missions of the various law enforcement agencies into a single strategic attack on drug trafficking and drug-related violent crime. Such intense coordination greatly enhances the law enforcement community’s ability to correctly identify and successfully prosecute the most dangerous criminals in one of our nation’s most dangerous cities.

Defendants