Edward Basley, a 47-year-old Wayne man, faces federal charges for allegedly co-leading a cocaine ring that pushed millions in drugs onto Philadelphia streets.
Basley and Philadelphia resident Gregory Jones, 48, were named as co-leaders of the Jones-Basley Drug Trafficking Organization in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday, Sept. 23, according to Radnor Patch. Ten defendants were charged in total.
The organization moved an estimated $5 million to $10 million worth of cocaine each month, prosecutors said. It obtained more than 300 kilograms of cocaine directly from a Mexican cartel and transported it from the Texas-Mexico border to Philadelphia, CBS News Philadelphia reported. The indictment alleges the conspiracy spanned from 2024 to 2026.
Authorities seized more than $17 million in cocaine over the course of the investigation, including more than $8 million in cocaine and multiple firearms recovered in Philadelphia, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
"Literal truckloads of cocaine have been seized as a result of this case and kept from flooding our city," U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said at the news conference announcing the indictment.
The FBI arrested five of the ten defendants on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in coordinated operations. The remaining five were already in state or federal custody.
Jones allegedly served as the primary leader, procuring drugs from a supplier in Mexico who delivered bulk shipments by tractor-trailer to the Philadelphia area, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. During the investigation, a truck bound for Philadelphia carrying 89 kilograms of cocaine was stopped in Knoxville by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The driver was co-defendant Orenthial Bailey, 50, of Temple, Texas, prosecutors said.
Basley, known by the alias "Beeb," and Jones, known as "Smallz," are each charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. Basley also faces a charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jones faces an additional charge of possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
Both men had served prior federal prison sentences for similar offenses. Basley was sentenced to 25 years in 2008 for cocaine distribution and was released in 2019 under a reduced sentence through the First Step Act. Jones was sentenced to 18 years in 2012, and President Joe Biden commuted his sentence in 2022. Both were on supervised release when charged again in June, according to Patch.
The eight co-defendants, all charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, include Philadelphia residents Jabari Savage, 46; Renard Brown, 43; Jermaine Singleton, 52; Farid Haddad, 48; and David McField, 43. Also charged are Shawn Bell, 54, of Cheltenham; Bailey; and Eduard Amador, 38, of Manassas, Virginia. All defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The investigation is part of a Homeland Security Task Force initiative co-led by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, with support from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service, Fox 29 reported.
Metcalf said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
