A significant gun and drug trafficking operation extending across multiple Pennsylvania counties has been dismantled, with seven individuals charged for their roles in the illicit activities, as per the office of the Montgomery County District Attorney. Among the arrested are six Philadelphia residents: Scott Grondin, 42, Bella Kenna, 21; Anthony Figueroa-Marko, 34; Emanuel Torres, 32; Asad Sayed, 27; and Felicia McKinnell, 28, alongside Christopher McNelly, 26, from Norristown.
Authorities revealed that the syndicate engaged in illegal purchasing and trading of 19 firearms and sold a variety of illegal substances such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA but also prescription pills and marijuana, as the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Pennsylvania State Police spearheaded the investigation with additional support from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to Patch.
The investigation uncovered that the criminal ring mainly operated out of the 2300 block of North 9th Street in Philadelphia, where Grondin, Kenna, and Figueroa-Marko resided, engaging in "straw purchases" — a process where individuals who are legally barred from owning firearms, purchase weapons through intermediaries. During the investigation into the group's gun trafficking activities, it came to light that there was a concurrent probe into a drug trafficking operation spanning back to May 2023 involving the same key players, according to NBC Philadelphia.
Grondin, identified as the ringleader, faces a staggering 216 charges, detailing the extensive nature of the organization's illicit dealings which authorities assert Grondin and others were deeply entrenched in — including the obliteration of serial numbers on the firearms to conceal their tracks, as per 6abc. Preliminary hearings are underway, with Grondin, Kenna, Sayed, Figueroa-Marko, and Torres slated for proceedings scheduled today at noon; McKinnell's hearing set for May 14 and McNelly's has been deferred, awaiting a new schedule as stated by officials.
