Ex-Camden County Cop Convicted For Role In Massive Drug Ring

A former Camden County police officer has been convicted for providing information to suspects involved in a large-scale drug distribution ring, authorities said on Thursday. Ashley Bailey, of Camden, was one of 40 people arrested as part of “Operation Southern District” in 2014.

Bailey had been accused of using her role as a police officer to access information about targets of an investigation into a drug ring that spanned Camden, Atlantic, Burlington, Gloucester and Ocean counties. She then provided that information to those suspects, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. One of the targets was her late husband, Edwin Ingram.

She was also accused of sharing information from an intelligence briefing with another target, Donyell Calm, in relation to a shooting that occurred earlier that year.

She was found guilty by a Camden County jury on Wednesday, and faces up to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison — including five years without parole — for each count.

Her brother-in-law, Nathan Ingram, was also convicted by the same jury on 22 counts, the most serious of which was leading a narcotics trafficking network. Nathan Ingram faces life in prison and would have to serve 25 years before being eligible for parole.

Police said the drug trafficking network supplied heroin and crack cocaine to lower-level dealers in Camden and Atlantic counties. The drugs also reached buyers in Burlington, Gloucester and Ocean counties. The months-long investigation resulted in the execution of five search warrants including three in Camden, one in Haddon Township and one in Williamstown.

This led to the seizure of three vehicles, 8,000 bags of heroin, 1,000 bags of crack cocaine, 10 pounds of marijuana, more than $11,000 cash and four firearms. One of the firearms was an automatic rifle. The total street value of the drugs was estimated at $85,000.

Investigators believed the operation engaged in drug sales valued at approximately $1.2 million annually. Calm, in his capacity as a leader of the network, sold approximately 5,000 bags of heroin and/or cocaine per week, authorities claimed.

Sentencing for Bailey and Ingram is scheduled for Dec. 15.

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