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This multifaceted investigation by the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Attorney General’s Office resulted in the dismantling of the Byrne Drug Trafficking Organization, led by Matthew James Byrne, 43, of Broomall in Delaware County, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn announced on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
The Charged Suspects
On Monday, Aug. 5, Matthew Byrne and his brother Joseph Byrne, 47, along with Khalik Kemp, 34, of Philadelphia, and Christian Garwood, 55 of Flourtown, Montgomery County, were arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Terrence Hughes. They were all committed to Bucks County Correctional Facility, Matthew Byrne on $5 million bail, Joseph Byrne and Kemp on $3 million bail, and Garwood on $1 million bail.
Two other men in California - Ralph Brooks, 42 of Los Angeles, and Chaz Harness-Walker, 40 of Inglewood – are also charged. They are not yet in custody.
The Investigation: Drug Pick-Ups On Mini-Vacations
The investigation found that Matthew Byrne made several trips to Los Angeles, either once or twice a month this year, solely to purchase cocaine and methamphetamine to fuel the drug empire.
He purchased drugs in California because of its proximity to Mexico and the lower cost of illegal drugs, according to the investigators. Byrne’s cross-country trips to Los Angeles lasted only two to three days. In that time, Byrne met with narcotics brokers to purchase drugs, smuggled them inside Bluetooth speakers or homemade wooden boxes, and then shipped them to Pennsylvania providing fake names as the recipients of the packages.
Back In Pennsylvania...
Narcotics detectives tracked 12 shipments to locations in Bristol Township and Montgomery County, each parcel containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs. Most of the packages were delivered to his brother’s home on Gable Hill Road in Bristol Township. During the investigation, three of the shipments were intercepted by authorities at the United Parcel Service’s Worldport facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
Nearly $1.2 million in cocaine and methamphetamine was found stashed inside the three intercepted Bluetooth speakers.
Schorn said: “One can only imagine how many lives were spared by the interception of these dangerous drugs.”
The members of the drug trafficking organization face charges of corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, conspiracy to dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal use of a communication facility.
“This case shows there are no limits to the lengths traffickers will go to make a profit dealing poisons that devastate families and communities,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
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