Feds bust rappers in alleged nationwide Ecstasy ring

(CBS/AP) FAIRFIELD, Calif. - Several rappers connected to a San Francisco Bay area music label are among those charged with taking part in a nationwide Ecstasy ring.

According to CBS Sacramento, federal agents say rappers were dealing Ecstasy and other drugs across the country.

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that investigators seized 45,000 Ecstasy pills, crack cocaine and heroin from the Northern California-based drug trafficking operation.

The Contra Costa Times reports many of the 25 suspects are associated with Thizz Entertainment, a popular label on the Bay Area's rap scene. "Thizz" is slang for the feeling of being high on Ecstasy.

Federal investigators say some of the artists and their associates are using rap music as cover for criminal activity.

Thizz Entertainment has deep roots in Vallejo, and police say some of the label's associates also have deep criminal pasts dating back to the 1980s involving violent takeover robberies and murder. Many of the label's lyrics, the DEA said, promote Ecstasy use.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner says suspects from various California cities, New York and Oklahoma City were arrested Thursday. Some suspects charged have yet to be taken into custody.

Prosecutors say federal agents uncovered a distribution network centered in Vallejo that trafficked in Ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, Oxycodone and marijuana.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 4 in Sacramento federal court.