Baltimore officials accuse Shipley Hill group of distributing fentanyl

Baltimore officials on Monday announced the arrests of members of an alleged drug trafficking group accused of distributing fentanyl out of the Shipley Hill neighborhood.

Five individuals, one of whom is still at large, face drug conspiracy charges; some face additional handgun charges or fentanyl distribution charges.

Officials said the investigation into this organization included surveillance assisted by the National Guard and undercover drug purchases by police. Drugs recovered when search warrants were served included 1,158 grams of suspected fentanyl and dozens of gel capsules of suspected fentanyl mixture, according to police.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and prosecutors in his office said Monday that the indictments stemmed from a three-month investigation beginning in January. Bates said the “takedown,” the first since he took office, demonstrates prosecutors’ active participation in Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy.

That effort, known as GVRS, combines law enforcement consequences with targeted offers of services through Roca and Youth Advocate Programs, two nonprofits that focus resources on city residents most at-risk of perpetrating or falling victim to violence.

Shantay Jackson, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, said the five individuals now criminally charged were given a “law-enforcement only” notification, rather than one paired with outreach from the nonprofit service providers. Since Jan. 1, the model has referred 37 people in the Southwestern District to services, she said.

Jackson also said her office would conduct a neighborhood stabilization effort in coming weeks that could include a walk-through with representatives from city agencies.

The alleged organization was operating in Baltimore Police’s Southwestern District, which GVRS expanded to include in January. It is expected to spread to additional police districts by the end of the year.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Maryland’s Department of Health reported Baltimore had 218 fentanyl-related deaths from January to March 2021, the most recent data available. The state as a whole saw 564 during that time period.

Over all of 2020, the city had 920 fentanyl-related deaths, up from 810 the year prior. The city had 1,028 drug and alcohol intoxication deaths and 964 intoxication deaths specifically related to opioids, according to the report.

The case does not include charges for any shootings or homicides, despite officials saying the group members were known as “extreme drivers of violence.” Jackson noted some had previous charges connected to violence. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison added that it’s possible under a GVRS model to look at an area experiencing violence and go after organizations or groups operating there.

Police data for the year, through April 22, shows the Southwestern District with drops in both nonfatal shootings and homicides compared with the same time period last year. The data, the most recent report available, shows eight homicides in the district compared with 15 at this time last year and 22 nonfatal shootings compared with 28.

The city as a whole has seen fewer homicides and nonfatal shootings through May 1, according to Baltimore Police. There have been 88 homicides, compared with 111 at this point in 2022, and 195 nonfatal shootings, compared with 220 last year.