Montco Authorities Announce Takedown of Large-Scale Marijuana Ring
By Brad Segall
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Montgomery County, Pa. authorities say they have taken down a major nationwide drug distribution network that was responsible for moving millions of dollars' worth of marijuana across the country.
Prosecutors say the investigation, which they dubbed "Operation Weed Whacker," was sparked by a tip from a member of the community.
Now, eight people are charged including brothers Dennis and Jeffrey Frederick, believed to be the kingpins in this area.
Montgomery County DA Risa Ferman says the ring, in just over a year's time, moved more than 3,600 pounds of pot from California to the Philadelphia area in large containers, through a private shipping company.
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"Each of those pounds is sold in Pennsylvania for $4,000 a pound," Ferman said today, "so we're talking about an organization that in less than one and a half years has moved fourteen-and-a-half million dollars."
Police say they used surveillance and cell phone wiretaps to dismantle the organization. They seized nearly $700,000 in cash and hundreds of pounds of high-grade pot, along with guns and cell phones (below).
