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The FBI and federal prosecutors on Friday announced a “historic” indictment charging 33 alleged members of the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization accused of fueling Kensington’s open-air drug market for nearly a decade.
Officials said 24 defendants were arrested in coordinated operations Friday, eight were already in custody, and one remains at large. Authorities executed 11 federal search warrants, and results are pending.
At a Philadelphia news conference, FBI Director Kash Patel called the operation a model for reclaiming violent corridors from crews, praising years of collaboration between the FBI, Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“This takedown is how you safeguard American cities from coast to coast,” Patel said. “We have permanently removed a drug trafficking organization off the streets of Philadelphia.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel announces a federal indictment charging 33 people in a Kensington drug trafficking case during a news conference in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said the case centers on the 3100 block of Weymouth Street in Kensington, a prolific stretch of the city’s open-air market. The indictment charges a conspiracy dating to January 2016 through October 2025 involving fentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine.
“It’s a massive drug-trafficking conspiracy spanning nearly a decade, the largest federal indictment this century brought by our district,” Metcalf said. “We targeted it like a precision missile at Kensington’s epicenter.”
Metcalf said 22 defendants were arrested during the sweep, while eight already in local custody will be transferred to federal court next week. Agents have recovered dozens of firearms and significant amounts of narcotics from alleged stash locations; totals will be detailed in court filings.
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Suspects brandished firearms in a video tied to a drug trafficking case in Pennsylvania. (Department of Justice)
Prosecutors said the organization was allegedly led by Jose Antonio Morales Nieves, 45, of Luquillo, Puerto Rico, known as ‘Flaco,’ who “essentially owned” the block and charged rent to other dealers; Ramon Roman-Montanez, 40, of Philadelphia, known as ‘Viejo,’ who managed daily operations and organized shifts; and Nancy Rios-Valentin, 33, of Philadelphia, who also oversaw finances and shift schedules.
The crew allegedly used violence to enforce its territory including shootings, murder and assaults and retaliated against witnesses who cooperated with law enforcement.
During a Q&A, officials said no substantive murder or shooting counts have been filed but the investigation continues.
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Surveillance captured crowds in a Philadelphia neighborhood identified as an open-air drug market before the takedown announced Friday. (Department of Justice)
FBI Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs said the operation used nine tactical teams and involved hundreds of officers. Most arrests occurred in Kensington, with others in Puerto Rico, Delaware and New Jersey.
“For too long the Weymouth Street drug organization flooded Kensington with drugs and terrorized residents with horrific acts of violence and intimidation,” Jacobs said. “That ended today.”
He said the FBI will launch public-safety ads urging residents to share crime tips securely.
“Our job doesn’t end with these arrests,” Jacobs added. “We will remain here, standing with the people of Kensington.”
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the case shows the city’s shift to treating open-air markets as an organized public-safety threat, not isolated street dealing.
“We’re not going to apologize for removing people who terrorize our community,” Bethel said. “This is the model we can keep running.”
Officials framed the case as part of PSN Recon, an offshoot of Project Safe Neighborhoods that merges federal, state and local intelligence to target violent offenders block-by-block. Metcalf said the group meets monthly to identify the most dangerous actors and pursue organization-level prosecutions instead of one-off gun or drug cases.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added: “Drug traffickers who poison our communities and enforce their territory through violence will face the full force of federal law. Working alongside our state and local partners, the Department of Justice will continue to dismantle these criminal networks and restore safety to neighborhoods that have suffered for far too long.”
Patel closed by thanking investigators and line prosecutors who built the case. “You need courageous prosecutors to bring these cases,” he said. “This is exactly how you safeguard American lives. The blocks belong to the residents, not the drug dealers.”
“For the criminals that remain out there,” Metcalf warned, “the next indictment has a space with your name on it.”
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All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and charges are allegations.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.