Drug Trafficking Ring That Smuggled Millions Busted in Bucks

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, PA —A drug trafficking organization that smuggled millions of dollars in cocaine and methamphetamine from California to Bucks County has been dismantled, authorities said.

One of the ringleaders is a Levittown man who is being held on $3 million bail, according to court records. Another is his brother, a Delaware County man, according to court records.

Joseph Byrne of Bristol Township and Matthew Byrne of Broomall led a ring that ran from California and into Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties and the state of Delaware, according to the criminal complaint obtained by Patch.

Both face numerous felony drug charges. A Montgomery County man and a Philadelphia man have also been charged along with their counterparts in California, authorities said.

Bucks County Detectives said that Matthew James Byrne, 43, of Broomall in Delaware County, headed the so-called, "Byrne Drug Trafficking" organization making regular trips to California, where he allegedly purchased methamphetamines and cocaine from sources in the Los Angeles area, the complaint reads.

After purchasing the drugs in California, Byrne allegedly concealed them in handmade wood boxes, foam cooler boxes, or inside Bluetooth speakers that he shipped overnight to the homes in Bucks and Montgomery counties, including a Levittown address.

Authorities allege that Matthew Byrne and Khalik Kemp of Philadelphia traveled to Los Angeles separately and together for the “sole purpose of purchasing an inventory of cocaine and methamphetamines to fuel their drug empire," the affidavit said.

Flight and travel information for nine trips between January and July showed that Matthew Byrne traveled to LA at least once a month. He would stay there for two or three days and then return to Pennsylvania.

The parcels labeled with fictitious names – “John Ross” and “John Patrick” – were shipped to homes in the Indian Creek and Golden Ridge sections of Levittown in Bristol Township, and a home in Flourtown, according to the affidavit.

Eight packages containing concealed illegal drugs were intercepted in Louisville, Kentucky at what is considered the world’s largest automated package handling facility, the affidavit states.

Authorities have also charged Kemp, 34, of Philadelphia, and Christian Garwood, 55, of Flourtown, besides the Byrne brothers.

Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn is expected to be joined by officials with Homeland Security Investigations and the Attorney General’s Office to announce the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization during a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.