Police: Charles Village Store Used As 'Front' To Sell/Buy 'Substantial Amount' Of Opioids
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Police swarmed a North Baltimore corner store at North Charles Street and East 22nd Street Tuesday and arrested two people after a tip about illegal drug activity.
Police say they found thousands of grams of drugs and the two suspects were just using Charles Village Discount as a front.
Officers say they also found containers that could have hidden drugs in plain sight.
Detectives say they found 7,500 grams of fentanyl and 6,000 grams of morphine, enough to kill thousands of people. The drugs were so lethal, hazmat crews had to be called in.
Investigators say they also uncovered containers that looked like soda bottles, but they had secret compartments that could hide illicit drugs.
Authorities say a citizen tipped them off.
"These suspects believe they can use a store to conceal their illegal activities," said Lt. Jarron Jackson of the Baltimore Police Department. "We'd like to put criminals on notice, no matter where they try to hide, we are going to find them."
WJZ spoke with some people who live and work in the area and they told say the store had recently opened up a few months ago.
"Of course it could have been catastrophic to the safety of... there is an opioid crisis in the city and I guess it's a good thing that it's off of the streets," barber Muhammad said.
In the first six months of 2017, nearly 1,200 people in Maryland died after an overdose-related problem.
"More drugs coming into the community is never a good thing," Robert Watkins of Baltimore said.
"To see how all of our young kids and stuff around here, they don't need to see nothing like that. It's too much. we are trying to have a better environment and a better community, but how can we have a good community when all this is going on?" Brandon King said.
Police believe there could be others who are connected to the case, whether it's the supplier or buyers.
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