State Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Wednesday that a group of law enforcement agencies shut down a major drug trafficking operation in central Maryland, seizing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.
Frosh said officers seized $70,000 in cash, 5 kilograms of fentanyl, 500 grams of heroin and more than 7 kilograms of cocaine. Frosh said the seizure of fentanyl was notable because of how potent the drug is. Police say fentanyl is the biggest cause of fatal drug overdoses in the country. The opioid is often mixed in with other drugs without the user knowing.
“Five kilograms of fentanyl or 11 pounds of fentanyl is an enormous amount. My understanding is that one thousand micrograms of fentanyl will kill just about anyone,” Frosh said at a news conference in Baltimore. “The organization had enough fentanyl to kill millions of Marylanders.”
Prosecutors said the drug trafficking operation was based out of two auto body shops – one in Baltimore City and another in Glen Burnie. Detectives conducted surveillance of the locations and witnessed dozens of drug transactions during the 10-month investigation, Frosh said.
Prosecutors charged five people — 48-year-old Dwayne Booze and 51-year-old Thomas Timothy Booze, of Baltimore, 47-year-old Maurice Dotson of Severn, and 27-year-old Michael Booze and 31-year-old Thomas William Booze of Glen Burnie — in connection with the drug operation. They said Dwayne Booze was the head of the operation.
The Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office acted on search warrants for 20 locations connected to the operation. The agencies also broke up a sophisticated marijuana growing operation consisting of more than 400 plants, Frosh said. The arrests and seizures happened in December, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Anne Arundel County Police Department Chief Amal Awad called the operation “a major criminal enterprise” and the investigation was a huge undertaking for several agencies including the police departments of Baltimore City and Baltimore and Calvert counties.
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