WASHINGTON — A seven-month undercover police investigation in the Clarendon area of Arlington, Virginia, uncovered a drug ring dealing in marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy and resulted in nine arrests, the Arlington County Police Department announced Thursday.
Charges include distribution of illegal drugs, possession with the intent to distribute and one charge of child endangerment. Those charged ranged in age from 22 to 32 and included one woman.
Police say they seized 52 grams of cocaine, 344 grams of marijuana, 7 grams of MDMA (ecstasy) and more than a kilogram of marijuana edibles. After the arrests began, one investigator began receiving death threats via text message, police said.
“That really made this case unusual,” Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage told WTOP. “If somebody is willing to make threats against an officer, we can only imagine what they’re willing to do to the public.”
Police said Tesfayie Tesfa, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, texted the graphic death threats and has been charged with making the threats and with obstructing justice. Tesfa, who does not face any drug-related charges, is being held in the Arlington County Detention Facility, police said.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
