Baltimore police make largest-ever drug seizure

Routine intelligence gathering and a relatively brief investigation led to the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the Baltimore police department, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said Friday.

Officers seized 41 kilograms (91 pounds) of pure powder cocaine from a home in southwest Baltimore early Friday, Bealefeld said. One man was arrested, but his name was not released because the investigation is ongoing and police are hoping to make more arrests, he said.

“To get a 41-kilo seizure, that’s extraordinary by anyone’s measure in any community in this country,” Bealefeld said.

The drugs would have sold for between $2 million and $3 million on the street after they were diluted and packaged for sale, Bealefeld said. He said some of the cocaine inevitably would have been made into crack cocaine.

Major drug investigations can sometimes take years, but this one came together in a matter of weeks, Bealefeld said. The cocaine was intended to be distributed regionally, possibly in Baltimore but also in western Maryland or on the Eastern Shore.

Officers had some prior knowledge about the man who was arrested, but recent intelligence gathered through tips and surveillance indicated he played a larger role in the drug trade than was previously suspected, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Bealefeld described the enterprise as “a wholesale operation” and said officers were pursuing leads about the supplier of the drugs.

“These kilos would have been parceled out to probably many drug organizations in the area,” he said.

While Baltimore is known for its heroin problem, with an estimated 40,000 addicts, cocaine is widely distributed in the region, and Friday’s seizure was likely to affect the suburbs as much as the city, Bealefeld said.

The previous largest cocaine seizure by Baltimore police was a 30-kilogram haul in 2006.

Officers also seized $11,000 in cash during the raid. No weapons were found, and the man was in the house by himself, Bealefeld said.

Two SWAT team officers armed with automatic weapons guarded the drugs and cash as they sat on a table at police headquarters.