Fetty Wap Arrested by FBI for Alleged Role in Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Involving Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV

Fetty Wap was arrested on federal drug charges during the Rolling Loud music festival at New York’s Citi Field.

The rapper, given name William Junior Maxwell II, was set to perform at Rolling Loud but was arrested by the FBI before he could come on stage.

According to a statement from the Department of Justice, Fetty and the other defendants are members of a trafficking organization that distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey.

Fetty, who stands accused of being a kilogram-level distributor for the trafficking organization, was arrested with five others, including a New Jersey correctional officer. He appeared in federal court in Central Islip to answer the charges Friday morning.

“The defendants obtained the narcotics on the West Coast and used the United States Postal Service and drivers with hidden vehicle compartments to transport the controlled substances across the country to Suffolk County, where they were stored,” the statement said. “The drugs were then distributed to dealers who sold the controlled substances on Long Island and in New Jersey.”

“As alleged, the defendants transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace in a statement. “We will continue to work nonstop with our law enforcement partners to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

The six involved, which include Fetty, Anthony Cyntje, Anthony Leonardi, his brother Robert Leonardi, Brian Sullivan, and Kavaughn Wiggins are reportedly accused of belonging to a drug distribution ring and were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess more than 100 kilos of controlled substances.

“These defendants ran a multimillion-dollar bicoastal drug distribution organization with Suffolk County as their home base,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said in a statement. “They were wholesale drug dealers who pumped massive quantities of narcotics into our communities.

“The fact that we arrested a chart-topping rap artist and a corrections officer as part of the conspiracy illustrates just how vile the drug trade has become,” the FBI’s Michael Driscoll also said of the incident.

Fetty has run into trouble with the law before. The rapper was arrested after allegedly assaulting three employees at a hotel two years ago, facing three counts of battery, and was also arrested and charged with DUI for drag racing on a New York City highway.

Fetty’s attorney Navarro W. Gray said in a statement to the Times, “We pray that this is all a big misunderstanding,” adding that he hopes the rapper will be released Friday “so we can clear things up as soon as possible.”

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