City leaders to announce takedown of group connected to drug trafficking in south Baltimore

CBS News

09-04-2025

Baltimore City leaders, including Mayor Brandon Scott, and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown will announce the takedown of a group who they allege is connected to violence and fentanyl overdoses in South Baltimore.
The takedown is one of multiple recent busts as a result of Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy.
In a major takedown dubbed
'Operation Tornado Alley'
, police targeted four criminal organizations operating in Southwest Baltimore.
The six-month-long investigation that ended in Nov. 2024 involved collaboration with between city and federal law enforcement led to the recovery of nearly $400,000 in cash, large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl, and the seizure of nearly 70 guns.
The evidence also included 15 stolen cars. After the takedown, police said they put a stop to a planned murder.
The bust resulted in the indictment of nearly 40 individuals, ranging from ages 16 through 60. Investigators said the group operated in the 2000 block of West Pratt Street; the 500 block of Millington Avenue; the 1700 block of Lemmon Street; and the 2800 block of Edmondson Avenue.
Baltimore's GVRS program has been credited as
being a driving force
behind the reduction of violent crime in the city. Baltimore City Mayor Scott says the program has helped Baltimore achieve significant drops in gun violence.
Homicides went down 23% in 2024, with a total of 201 compared to 261 homicides in 2023.