Federal prosecutors in Washington DC announced that 20 people have been arrested and are in custody as part of a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. The case grew from an initial group of 14 defendants to 20 now charged, and officials said it is the result of a long-running investigation into the drug trade in the city. Prosecutors described the operation as a sustained effort to dismantle a network selling drugs on the streets.
According to authorities, the conspiracy operated in the Washington Highlands area of the city, around 4th Street and Chesapeake Street in the southeast. The location is around the corner from Hendley Elementary School, which serves children from pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade. The proximity to the school became a central point in the way prosecutors framed the case.
Officials said the defendants routinely sold crack cocaine in the presence of school-aged children, as well as mothers, babysitters and parents who were unable to do anything about it. Prosecutors said the behavior exposed children to illegal activity in broad daylight and normalized dangerous conduct, while the trade fueled violence between local street crews and deepened addiction in the community.
The investigation was started by the Metropolitan Police Department in December 2024 and was carried out as part of a Homeland Security Task Force that brought together the MPD, the FBI, the DEA and the United States Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said multiple search warrants were executed during the inquiry, and that some individuals who were not part of this particular conspiracy had already been prosecuted, meaning the total number of people pulled from the network is higher than 20.
Authorities noted that four of the defendants were already under court supervision when the conspiracy was operating. In terms of potential penalties, prosecutors said five of those charged face a mandatory minimum of 10 years, several face a mandatory minimum of five years, and several face the possibility of life in prison. The charges were brought at the federal level.
The United States Attorney said the office would seek the maximum punishments available, along with enhanced sentencing that applies to drug sales in close proximity to schools. She warned that anyone selling drugs near children in the District of Columbia would be caught and charged federally, framing the prosecution as part of a wider crackdown on drug trafficking in the city.
Prosecutors also highlighted one image from the case showing a sale of cocaine being made in daylight to a woman, with a five-year-old child only a few feet away. According to the account, after buying the drugs the woman took the child by the hand and walked away. The prosecutor described bringing a child to a drug sale as a further level of crime beyond the dealing itself.