Authorities Break Up 'Black Mafia Family' Crime Ring

DETROIT -- Federal authorities say they have broken up a cocaine-trafficking ring that laundered more than $270 million over 15 years in an operation that began in Michigan and branched out across the country. The organization, known on the streets as the Black Mafia Family, had ties to the rap music industry, and its two leaders have appeared in rap videos, said Robert L. Corso, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency in Detroit. "They were in fact just another group of thugs who brought fear, intimidation and violence to the streets of Detroit," he said. Local and federal authorities in Michigan, California, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi arrested 23 people Friday, and two suspects remained at large, authorities said. They face charges that include conspiracy, drug possession with intent to deliver and money laundering, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Friday in Detroit. U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy said local and federal authorities have been after the ring since 2000 and recently were able to pull several old cases together from many different states. Authorities said the gang dealt in "multi-kilogram" quantities of cocaine. Since 1999, authorities seized cocaine from the group in Polk County, Texas; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Kansas City, Mo.; Collin County, Texas; Crawford County, Ark.; Florissant, Mo.; St. Louis; and Woodland Hills, Calif.