Interstate undercover 'Operation Rat Pack' yields 8 arrests in Delco drug trafficking ring

MEDIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Eight men were arrested last week when police busted a Delaware County drug trafficking ring, and the district attorney says they’re still looking for one more.

The eight men arrested for their alleged involvement in the organization include Kareem Bannister, 37, Leo Davis, 47, and Breon Gethers, 38, of Chester; Gregory Council, 63, of Downingtown; Gregory Young, 52, of Marcus Hook; Anthony Major, 53, of Philadelphia; and Baruti Mills, 46, and Louis Stillis, 53, of Upland.

Charges against the men include operation of a corrupt organization, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy, as well as firearms charges.

Nakia Jeffries, 49, of Harrisburg, is also charged, but police are still searching for him.

“This is a corruption operation of, really, drug kingpins. These are people who are notoriously known to law enforcement,” said D.A. Jack Stollsteimer.

He says many of the people arrested have been responsible for providing a major share of the illegal narcotics sold in Delaware County and have been on law enforcement radar for a while.

“They’re facing lots of years in jail,” said the D.A.

Delaware County’s Narcotics Task Force and Delaware State Police began the interstate undercover operation — nicknamed “Rat Pack” — in February.

“And it’s probably the biggest undercover drug investigation we’ve done in Delaware County in a couple of decades,” Stollsteimer said.

From March through May, undercover agents with the NTF bought cocaine from defendant Gregory Young in Chester, according to the D.A. Then in June, under the order of Superior Court Judge Megan Sullivan, NTF agents started intercepting the defendants’ cell phone communication, which showed each of them was actively buying and selling cocaine through a network led by defendants Baruti Mills and Anthony Major.

In addition to the arrests, search warrants on Aug. 13 issued for 16 locations in Delaware County and the state of Delaware yielded the seizure of $63,073 in cash, six vehicles, three handguns, 40 rounds of ammunition, 430 grams of cocaine and 257 grams of marijuana, officials said.

“We’re feeling very thankful that we were able to get this drug organization off the street and make a major dent, I believe, in the illegal drug trade here in southeastern Delaware County,” Stollsteimer said.

Also invested in Operation Rat Pack were the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Chester Police Department.