Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the indictments of four individuals for their roles in a criminal enterprise responsible for trafficking large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine. The investigation resulted in the seizure of 37 firearms, including three assault weapons, three handguns equipped with Glock switch attachments (allowing them to operate as fully automatic weapons), over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and body armor. Detectives also seized over 8.5 kilograms of fentanyl, 3 kilograms of cocaine, kilogram presses, drug ledgers, and over $308,000 of narcotic proceeds. The investigation was led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program—Group 51.

Two additional defendants, who have not yet been apprehended, who received large quantities of narcotics from Rawles and Frazier and then repackaged them for street-level distribution, have been charged with conspiracy, participation in a criminal organization, volume dealer, possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, use of firearms in a drug trafficking crime, illegal possession of regulated firearms, and related charges. As alleged in the indictment, the investigation revealed that at least as early as August 2022 through July 2023, Ronald Rawles and Corey Frazier maintained multiple stash locations for fentanyl, cocaine, and firearms in luxury apartment buildings in Baltimore City and Howard County. Rawles and Frazier would supply mid-level narcotic dealers with bulk quantities of drugs, which they would then break down and package for further redistribution. Frazier and Rawles also supplied narcotics to street-level shops, one of which operated at the intersection of Cranston Avenue and North Woodington Road in Baltimore City.