Major Cocaine Trafficking Ring Dismantled In Southeast PA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — State and local prosecutors have announced the dismantling of a major drug trafficking operation in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele jointly announced Thursday that they had taken down a cocaine trafficking operation that impacted areas throughout Montgomery County and the City of Philadelphia.

In total, six accused drug traffickers were arrested in the case. All of them are considered by authorities to be top members of an organization that employed both sub-dealers and lower level drug dealers to deliver cocaine to users throughout the region.

"The investigation resulting in these six arrests shut off a significant pipeline for cocaine in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and our county is safer for it," Steele, the Montgomery County prosecutor, said in a statement. "Law enforcement partnered with the Attorney General Shapiro's team, are committed to stopping the flow of poison in Montgomery County — whether that poison is significant quantities of cocaine or heroin/fentanyl or methamphetamine."

In his own statement, Shapiro spoke about the importance of shutting down dangerous drug operations, saying the collaborative effort to dismantle this drug trafficking organization would help to keep drugs out of the hands of users in southeastern Pennsylvania.

"I'm thankful for our partners in Montgomery County and for our shared commitment to stopping these dangerous operations and keeping Pennsylvanians safe," Shapiro stated.

According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, an investigation began after law enforcement learned that two of the suspects — 50-year-old Javier Berrios, of Souderton, Montgomery County, and 44-year-old Robert R. McMillion, III, of Quakertown, Bucks County — were working together to sell large amounts of cocaine in the Souderton area and throughout Montgomery County.

Investigators then learned that Berrios had begun obtaining his cocaine supply from another one of the suspects, Hannibal Harvey, 47, of Philadelphia, and that the trafficking organization was operating in Philadelphia as well as neighboring Montgomery County.

Montgomery County narcotics detectives along with agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and local police agencies went on to conduct controlled buys, analyze cell phone records and conduct in-person surveillance in the case, which ultimately culminated with the recent arrests.

Throughout the investigation, authorities, by working through the various levels of drug dealers, learned that one of the main cocaine suppliers to the trafficking organization was Glendel J. Young, 40, of Philadelphia, who had supplied the cocaine to Hannibal Harvey, who was then assisted in the criminal enterprise by his brother, Odongo Harvey, 50, of Philadelphia, another defendant in the case, according to county prosecutors.

The Harvey's, in turn, allegedly supplied the cocaine to McMillion, Berrios and another suspect, Sharon Jones, 51, of Philadelphia.

Investigators further learned that McMillion and his employees, which included Jones, were using ambulances from McMillion's business, Colmar, Montgomery County-based Preferred Medical Transport, to transport the cocaine and facilitate drug deliveries, according to the Montgomery County D.A.'s Office.

Prosecutors say the quantities of cocaine were "significant," with one example being an arrangement by McMillion and Hannibal Harvey to deliver around five ounces (140 grams) of cocaine to Berrios approximately every seven days.

The D.A.'s Office said that investigators also learned that each of those weekly cocaine deliveries included with them an additional "eight ball," or 3.5 grams of cocaine, that Hannibal Harvey gave to Berrios as a no-charge "bonus" as a thank-you for being a productive sub-dealer.

"Based on the amount of cocaine being delivered to Berrios each week, investigators estimate that he was receiving, and ultimately selling, approximately 7,280 grams, or 7.2 Kilograms (15.84 pounds), of cocaine every twelve months since at least 2019," reads a news release from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. "Each time Berrios or another sub-dealer was resupplied with cocaine, cash payments were exchanged."

When they ultimately served search warrants in the case, law enforcement personnel seized six pounds of cocaine with a total street value of $200,000, plus two pounds of marijuana, three handguns (two of which were stolen and one that had an obliterated serial number), and around $15,000 in cash, according to the D.A.'s Office.

Each one of the six defendants were charged with Corrupt Organization, Possession With Intent to Deliver, Conspiracy, Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activities, Criminal Use of a Communications Facility, firearms offenses and other violations.

They were arraigned on Oct. 7 before Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy and cash bail amounts were set for Young at $150,000, for Berrios and Hannibal Harvey at $50,000, for McMillion and Odongo Harvey at $25,000, and $10,000 in unsecured bail for Jones, who was released on her own recognizance.

Berrios was the only defendant who failed to make cash bail and was remanded to county jail, according to the D.A.'s Office.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for all six defendants on Oct. 19.