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Drug ring busted in Bucks County after smuggling meth, cocaine from California
The cross-country criminals smuggled millions of dollars in cocaine and meth from California to Pennsylvania, according to officials.
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - Local law enforcement gathered Wednesday to announce the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization in Bucks County. The cross-country criminals smuggled millions of dollars in cocaine and meth from California to Pennsylvania, the officials said.
During the press conference, the officials showed pictures of what looked like ordinary Bluetooth karaoke speakers, but the Bucks County District Attorney says they were used by a bi-coastal drug trafficking organization to conceal methamphetamine and cocaine and ship it from California to locations to Bucks and Montgomery counties, under fake recipient names.
"Using shipment providers and use of our K-9 partners in other police agencies helped to identify suspected narcotics and drugs being shipped," Bucks County DA Jennifer Schorn stated.
DA Schorn identified 43-year-old Matthew James Byrne, of Broomall, Delaware County, as the leader, saying he traveled to Los Angeles several times this year to purchase the drugs and smuggle them inside the speakers, or homemade wooden boxes, and ship them to Pennsylvania.
Of the 12 shipments tracked that contained hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs, most were shipped to his brother, Joseph Byrne’s home, on Gable Hill Road in Bristol Township, investigators say.
Schorn says Joseph Byrne, at one point, tried to sell one of the speakers at a community yard sale. "That speaker was seized and tested and it tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine and cocaine. So, you can imagine just how dangerous that is and the level of greed to make up such a small profit by doing something so reckless."
The investigation – a collaboration between county detectives, Homeland Security and the Attorney General’s office – is ongoing.
"Based on the outstanding police work, we know these drugs were absolutely getting into the hands of users shortly after being prepped for distribution in Bucks County and Montgomery County," Schorn explained. "Oftentimes we see an uptick in violent crimes when individuals are using stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine. So, very much a concern the prevalence of these drugs in our community."
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, HIS Philadelphia, Spiros Karabinas, added, "Our job is to take it back to the source of supply and identify how these drugs are entering into the United States into the hands of these shippers in California, so we can bring them to justice."