Men Shipped Fentanyl, Carfentanil From China To Montco Homes: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — An uncle-nephew team of drug traffickers orchestrated the delivery of massive quantities of lethal drugs from China to Montgomery County, the District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.

Jamil I. Chapman, 26, and his nephew Nasai J. Chapman, 23, both of Collingdale in Delaware County, ordered, purchased, and shipped the opioids fentanyl and carfentanil directly to homes in the area, authorities said. Specifically, deliveries were made in both Upper Merion and Lower Merion townships.

The DA's Office said that the arrests followed an intensive, nine-month long investigation that involved local, state, and national agencies, ranging from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the Office of Homeland Security.

A total of 300 grams of fentanyl were seized, while police found evidence that another 400 to 500 grams of the even deadlier carfentanil had been shipped to Montgomery County.

Fentanyl, described by authorities as 50 times more deadly than heroin, is often the culprit in overdose deaths. Drug users may believe they are ingesting heroin, but instead get something even more dangerous. Carfentanil, in turn, was developed as an elephant tranquilizer and is 100 times deadlier than fentanyl and 10,000 times deadlier than heroin.

DA Kevin Steele said that this case marks the first evidence of carfentanil trafficking within the county. Several overdose deaths due to the drug have already been reported over the past year.

The Chapmans first came onto the radar of police after they responded to an overdose at their residence in the Royal Athena Apartments in June of 2017.

The man suffering from the overdose was Jamil Chapman, according to a criminal complaint. He was given several doses of Narcan and taken to Lankenau Hospital for treatment. To determine what kind of drugs Jamil had taken so that he could be properly treated, officers searched him, and located a large, 20 gram bag of heroin - along with $733 cash - in his pockets.

Jamil Chapman had been sentenced to six to 23 months in prison for a separate drug offense and turned himself on Sept. 8. From Montgomery County Correctional Facility, police later learned that he continued to organize shipments along with his nephew.

Meanwhile, police continued to investigate the Chapmans and eventually returned to their Lower Merion apartment in Sept. 2017, where they found 75 bags of fentanyl, some carfentanil, and numerous pieces of evidence that suggested a drug trafficking operation, the DA said.

Authorities then recovered evidence that indicated the Chapmans were expecting a large incoming shipment of fentanyl from China at JFK International Airport in New York on Oct. 25. Homeland Security intercepted the package, which had been destined for an apartment in Upper Merion, according to authorities. The package has 99 grams of fentanyl.

A second package was intercepted by authorities at JFK again on Nov. 14, this time containing 200 grams of fentanyl.

Further investigation revealed that numerous purchases had been made from May 2017 until September, with all packages coming from China and most of them being delivered to Upper Merion or Lower Merion. Among the destinations was Indigo 301, according to the criminal complaint, a new luxury apartment complex in the Village at Valley Forge. A few packages were delivered to addresses in Philadelphia, according to the criminal complaint.

The Chapmans face charges of operating a corrupt organization, possession with intent to deliver, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, and related counts.

Bail was set at $250,000 for each of the Chapmans. They failed to post and were taken to Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing for both uncle and nephew is set for April 10.

Images via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office