12 charged in multi-year federal drug trafficking probe targeting fentanyl-laced drug sales
CHICAGO (CBS) — Twelve people from two separate drug trafficking organizations are facing charges accused of supplying and selling fentanyl-laced drugs, including heroin and cocaine, on the city's South Side, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois announced Wednesday.
It's alleged some of the defendants supplied or sought to supply the drugs to other states – including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio. One of the charged possessed a loaded semi-automatic handgun while engaged in trafficking activities.
Authorities seized nearly $400,000 in suspected illicit cash proceeds, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, Bentley and Mercedes cars, and a custom-built motorcycle.
Most of the defendants were arrested Friday or early this week and have started making initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Law enforcement also executed court-authorized searches of multiple locations in the city.
The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation (OCDETF) that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug trafficking organizations and other criminal networks.
Criminal complaints unsealed in federal court charged the two drug trafficking organizations including an individual who allegedly distributed cocaine.
Ronald Johnson, 57, of Darien, Sulstine Brown Robinson, 69, of Chicago, Charles Lawrence, 48, of Chicago, and Darrell Jones, 58, of Chicago were charged in the conspiracy. Lawrence is also charged with possessing a firearm.
Troy Bonaparte, 58, of Chicago, was charged with possessing cocaine and marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Charges accused Johnson of being a "large-scale supplier" of multiple narcotics - including cocaine and marijuana. He was observed by law enforcement making several cocaine sales in the summer and fall of 2022.
Conspirators also allegedly used an apartment as a "stash house" in the city's Oakland neighborhood to store narcotics and cash, the office said.
Johnson allegedly provided a woman with around $300,500 in suspected drug proceeds outside of the apartment in December 2022. The cash was stuffed into a duffel bag that authorities later seized from her, according to the complaint.
Law enforcement stopped a vehicle Robinson was driving in Rock County, Wisconsin, and found that she had transported around seven kilograms of suspected cocaine from Chicago in January.
They seized the drugs that were packaged in six individual bricks and wrapped in green cellophane.
Also charged in a separate drug conspiracy include Derek Donley, 29, Kendall Banks, 31, Niger Gray, 25, Jamari Mc Neal, 29, and April Thomas, 60, all of Chicago. Byron Murphy, 39, of Chicago, is charged with distributing fentanyl-laced heroin.
According to the complaint, conspirators distributed and intended to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin, cocaine, and marijuana on the South Side of Chicago.
Donley is accused of conducting several drug deals, in the 7700 block of South Yates Boulevard, in South Shore. One of the deals dates back to April 2022 and involved the distribution of 100 grams of substances that tested positive for Fentanyl by Donley to Mc Neal.
Chantell Toney, 37, of Chicago was charged with distributing cocaine. The complaint states that he allegedly sold crack cocaine on the city's South Side on several occasions in 2022 and 2023. One of the deals occurred at an apartment in the South Shore neighborhood in last month, the complaint says.
The arrests and charges are a result of a multi-year investigation by FBI Chicago.