Federal prosecutors in Baltimore announced yesterday that seven area men have been charged with operating a drug ring responsible for selling large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine in Baltimore and Baltimore County during the past nine months.
A 12-count indictment, unsealed yesterday, described a cocaine ring based in Randallstown, with stash houses across the region to store drugs, guns and cash profits from the business.
Charged in the drug conspiracy were: Gregory L. "Nice" Wilson, 30, and Andre L. "Dre" Clark, 35, both of Catonsville; Edwin L. "Gator" Murray, 22, and Derrick L. Powell, 21, both of Cockeysville; and James B. "Cisco" Wilder, 28, Mark D. Halley, 23, and William F. Heggins Jr., 24, all of Baltimore.
Four of the defendants - Wilson, Murray, Clark and Heggins - also face gun charges connected to the drug conspiracy that could bring mandatory minimum prison sentences of five years.
Court records indicate that the investigation relied heavily on extensive use of telephone wiretaps, which recorded the defendants using coded language such as "izzy wizzy" to refer to drugs. The case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore and Baltimore County police departments and the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
