Eighteen alleged members of two drug trafficking operations based in Gloucester City and Camden have been charged in connection with their roles in distributing high-dose oxycodone pills in New Jersey. Rocco DePoder, Erick Bell, and Alfred Kee Jr. are among those charged in the case.
The defendants, who were charged with conspiring to possess and distribute drugs, employed coded language and used multiple phones to conceal their activities. The operations dealt in high-dose, 60- and 80-mg oxycodone pills, as well as Adderall and Xanax.
The charges and arrests are the result of a wiretap investigation led by the FBI into drug distribution operations in southern New Jersey. The investigation, which involved multiple law enforcement agencies, found that the operations’ leaders would solicit suppliers to provide them with quantities of oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax.
Rocco DePoder, the leader of the Gloucester City operation, would receive substantial quantities of pills at his home in Gloucester City and other locations in southern New Jersey. Erick Bell and Alfred Kee Jr., the leaders of the Camden operation, would also receive quantities of oxycodone at Bell’s home in Camden.
The defendants would then take orders for pills over the telephone from others and provide them with the pills. The conspiracies charged in the complaints carry a maximum prison term of 20 years and a maximum fine of $1 million.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gabriel J. Vidoni, Sara F. Merin, and Mark J. McCarren. The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The defendants were charged in two complaints unsealed today. Sixteen of the defendants were arrested today and are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judges Joel Schneider and Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court. Two defendants remain at large.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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