65 Charged After 41 Guns, Drugs Seized In West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Sixty-five people have been charged following a partnership between the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and the Philadelphia Police Department, authorities said.

On Monday, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said 65 people have been charged, and 41 firearms and more than 4,000 doses of narcotics have been seized since April this year.

The pair made the announcement in Cobbs Creek, where Outlaw said the area is experiencing an overall decrease in fatal shooting victims in the AG's Strategic Response Team’s targeted areas compared to the same time period in 2020.

"The early results of this partnership is more evidence that gun violence and drug trafficking go hand in hand, and that drug trafficking is a violent enterprise," Shapiro said. "We are running every firearm taken off the streets through our Track + Trace Program that we launched in 2019 to find out who bought them, if they have been used in crimes, and how they got into the hands of criminals."

The Office of Attorney General Strategic Response Teams are mobile units sent to assist local law enforcement in reducing violence by taking down drug trafficking operations in communities across Pennsylvania.

These teams operate in areas confronting violence related to drug trafficking organizations, and have recently operated in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia and the city of McKeesport in Western Pennsylvania.

"The collaborative efforts between our state and federal partners continue to help the Philadelphia Police Department net more dangerous individuals and recover more firearms off the street," Outlaw said. "I’m truly thankful for the additional help given to us through the Attorney General’s Office and look forward to our continued partnership in combating violent crime and making our streets safer."

In Kensington, the Strategic Response Team focuses on dismantling corrupt organizations through projects like the Kensington Initiative.

In June 2021 alone, the Strategic Response Team worked through the Kensington Initiative to arrest a high-level drug trafficking ringleader and seven other mid-level traffickers.

Agents also discovered seven firearms, including a ghost gun, more than 8,000 doses of heroin/fentanyl, and 1,500 grams of crack cocaine during the investigation.

The Strategic Response Team in West Philadelphia partners with the Philadelphia Police Department to provide more law enforcement support to community leaders in neighborhoods with high rates of gun violence related to drug trafficking.