Feds charge 51 in 3-state crack cocaine ring

Federal prosecutors have charged 51 people in three states with running a major crack cocaine distribution ring that operated in southwest Virginia, northeast Tennessee and North Carolina.

By: Associated Press | WSLS
Published: April 30, 2008

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ABINGDON, Va. (AP) - Federal prosecutors have charged 51 people in three states with running a major crack cocaine distribution ring that was linked to a music production company.
U.S. Attorney John Brownlee held a news conference in Abingdon on Wednesday to announce breakup of the ring that operated in southwest Virginia, northeast Tennessee and North Carolina.
Brownlee alleged in a news release that the drug-trafficking operation was headed by people involved with Kantstop Records Incorporated, which is based in Burlington, North Carolina.
Investigators contend musicians associated with the company had been distributing crack cocaine in the Bristol area since at least 2003. Authorities also said the company was used to launder the proceeds from distribution of more than 100 kilograms of crack cocaine in the region.
Brownlee said the criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday resulted from an investigation by federal, state and local agencies over a year and a half.