BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) – Four Pennsylvania men have been indicted on charges of allegedly smuggling millions of dollars worth of methamphetamine and cocaine from California to Bucks County by hiding the drugs in Bluetooth karaoke speakers, prosecutors said.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, investigators busted the nationwide drug ring after drug agents tracked a dozen shipments to locations in Bristol Township and Montgomery County. Each shipment contained hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs.
Three shipments were also intercepted by postal workers in Kentucky, who found cocaine and meth worth nearly $1.2 million in three Bluetooth speakers, prosecutors said.
Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
According to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn, approximately $5 million worth of drugs were transported from California to Pennsylvania over the past six months as part of the drug trafficking operation.
Matthew Byrne of Broomall, Delaware County, is accused of running the drug trafficking organization and traveling to California monthly to purchase drugs and organize deliveries.
Byrne, his brother Joseph Byrne, Khalik Kemp of Philadelphia and Christian Garwood of Flourtown, Montgomery County, were all arraigned on Monday, Aug. 5, and booked into the Bucks County Correctional Facility, prosecutors said.
The four Pennsylvania men, as well as two California men who are not yet in custody, face a variety of charges, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute and criminal use of a communications facility.
Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
“This case shows there is no limit to the lengths dealers will go to profit from poisons that destroy families and communities,” said Michelle Henry, Pennsylvania Attorney General. “This multimillion-dollar network involved monthly trips across the country to California, where purchases were made and shipments were arranged back to the state. Thanks to great cooperation from law enforcement, this sophisticated organization was disrupted and a cocaine and methamphetamine pipeline was shut down.”
The investigation, which involved numerous federal and local law enforcement agencies as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, is still active and ongoing, according to Schorn’s office.
