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Bucks County meth ‘empire’ earned $900K a week running drugs, DA says

The 17-member drug organization used legitimate businesses in the county as stash houses to avoid suspicion, prosecutors say.

Seventeen people were arrested in connection with ta methamphetamine distribution ring in Bucks County, according to prosecutors. Some of the group included business owners who allowed the drugs to be stashed on their property.
Seventeen people were arrested in connection with ta methamphetamine distribution ring in Bucks County, according to prosecutors. Some of the group included business owners who allowed the drugs to be stashed on their property.Read moreBucks County District Attorney's office

Investigators in Bucks County have dismantled a drug ring they say was distributing as much as 20 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the region each week, earning nearly a million dollars in profits at a time.

The drug “empire," as District Attorney Matt Weintraub called it, was allegedly run by William “Beetle” Jefferson, 57, who was charged late Thursday with racketeering, conspiracy, and felony drug charges.

“They certainly were a scourge in Bucks County,” Weintraub said Friday. “They weaved a poisonous web all across our county.”

Jefferson remained jailed on $200,000 bail. It was unclear Friday if he had retained an attorney.

The Northeast Philadelphia resident presided over an organization that was a “main source supplier” of the narcotic in Bucks County and surrounding areas, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

He was one of 17 arrested by an interdepartmental drug task force that included the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The other drug-ring participants included dealers and distributors, along with owners of small businesses in lower Bucks County — such as Detail Doctor, a car detailing service in Bristol Township — who allowed Jefferson and his partners to stash their drugs in their buildings, according to court documents.

“It’s a sign of sophistication for sure,” Weintraub said. “And I believe that because they were able to hide behind legitimate businesses, they were able to form a more stable framework for their operation. It permitted them to thrive, unfortunately.”

County detectives had been building the case against Jefferson and his organization since 2017, first learning about the drug ring through a series of undercover drug purchases, the affidavit said.

Through search warrants and drug arrests, the investigators gradually gleaned information about Jefferson’s alleged ring from its clients and former members. During their investigation, detectives followed Jefferson and watched him deliver drugs and collect payments at various locations in Bucks County and Philadelphia, according to the affidavit.

The arrests mark the second large-scale dismantling of a drug operation in Bucks County this week. On Monday, prosecutors detailed how a two-year investigation into a Suboxone smuggling ring ended with the arrest of a corrections officer.

Weintraub said Friday that with crime down amid the coronavirus shutdowns, his office had been able to prioritize these cases. The slowdown caused by the restrictions provided a “natural opportunity” to finalize the work they had been doing for years.

“Law enforcement is a thinking man’s occupation. In order to shut down networks of this size and elaboration, we need to do a lot of planning, as opposed to making street busts of corner drug dealers,” he said. “Clearly this is the fruits of our labor. And I would say there is more to come.”