September 23, 2026
Provided Image/U.S. Attorney’s Office
A drug trafficking ring pushed $5 million to $10 million worth of cocaine onto the streets of Philadelphia every month, federal prosecutors say. The photo above shows packages seized by investigators.
Ten members of an alleged drug trafficking organization with ties to the Mexican cartel have been charged after truckloads of cocaine were seized in Philadelphia during a multi-year investigation, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The group allegedly pushed $5 million to $10 million worth of cocaine onto the city's streets every month and coordinated with the cartel to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine. Investigators seized more than $8 million worth of cocaine and firearms locally, and more than $17 million worth throughout the entire investigation.
"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 in a statement. "Know that the investigation is ongoing and there will (be) more arrests to come."
Gregory Jones, 48, of Philadelphia, and Edward Basley, 47, of Wayne, allegedly led the group and are facing various drug charges.
Jones previously had been imprisoned for drug offenses and was granted clemency by former President Joe Biden in 2022, allowing him to be released eight years early. He allegedly began to coordinate with Mexican cartel members after his release, according to a detention motion filed Tuesday.
While on supervised release, Jones was invited to speak at a multi-day conference in Washington to petition Congress to "reform" the "unfair" nature of supervised release, the motion says.
"Unsatisfied with the profits that (Jones) saw from his own sales here in Philadelphia, he willingly agreed to serve as the cartel's central hub for cocaine distribution throughout the East Coast," the motion says. "As (Jones) met with members of Congress and their staff to petition for further relief, he was simultaneously distributing millions of dollars' worth of poison onto the streets of Philadelphia every single month."
Drug shipments were delivered via tractor trailer to parking lots in and around Philadelphia, prosecutors said. Some of the vehicles were designed with secret compartments to hide substances, cash and firearms.
Jones allegedly paid for and collected the cocaine in these lots. Afterward, he would meet with his partner and they would distribute the cocaine to customers, the indictment says.
Jones and Basley are each charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Jones faces an additional charge for allegedly intending to distribute cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school. Basley has been charged with a firearm offense.
The eight others charged in the indictment were identified by investigators as alleged active members or associates of the drug trafficking groups. They each are being charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Five of them are from Philadelphia: Jabari Savage, 46; Renard Brown, 43; Jermaine Singleton, 52; Farid Haddad, 48, and David McField, 43. Another, Shawn Bell, 54, is from Cheltenham. The others are Orenthial Bailey, 50, of Temple, Texas, and Eduard Amador, 38, of Manassas Virginia.
All 10 alleged members of the drug trafficking organization have been arrested. If convicted, they all face a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
