HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — One brother was arrested in Detroit. The other brother was arrested in Huntington.
Together, the Petersons led an organization that brought large quantities of deadly heroin and fentanyl from Detroit to be sold in street-level amounts to Huntington, state and federal officials said Tuesday in announcing a drug bust that resulted in about 100 arrests.
The organization, described by law enforcement officials as “the supplier of the suppliers,” allegedly is headed by Willie Verdell “Chill” Peterson of Detroit. He was arrested there on Tuesday morning. His brother, Manget Brown “Money” Peterson, was arrested in Huntington.
“What we’re excited about today is we took down the supplier of suppliers,” U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said.
“Often you’ll hear a criticism after an event like this: ‘This was all a show.’ This wasn’t a show. We took down a network. That’s important. It’s been operating for a long time. We’re going to choke supply as much as we can.”
The Petersons and their organization were the first of several that law enforcement officials are aiming to take down.
“Certainly this is a family. They don’t operate in isolation,” Stuart said. “I can tell you they’re not the Brady Bunch. And they’re not ‘All in the Family.’ These are folks who brought misery and chaos to our city.”
Stuart cited 2017’s dramatic uptick in Huntington’s murder rate — up 76 percent from 2016 — along with a 28-percent hike in aggravated assault rate and 24-percent increase in rape cases.
At least 15 people involved in the Peterson organization were charged in a federal indictment in the Southern District of West Virginia with conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Some 15 more were indicted Monday in Cabell Circuit Court.
Stuart said 60 more people outside the Peterson organization were being targeted in the investigation, although some had not yet been named in an indictment.
Additional members of the Peterson organization were expected to be arrested and charged in Detroit, officers said. Among those was an associate named as Malcolm Simmons.
“Willie Peterson is sort of the leader of this organization out of Detroit, and we’re real pleased we were able to pick him up this morning — and one of his associates in Detroit,” Stuart said.
“That was almost a pipeline that went straight from Detroit to this city. They found that this is a very profitable place to do business. If they want to make money, they need to go some other place because we’re going to make it very hard to make any profit from selling drugs in the city of Huntington.”
The arrests were the result of a cooperative effort by law enforcement organizations on the federal, state and local level.
The investigation revealed that the Peterson organization had been operating in Huntington for nearly 15 years, trafficking large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine from Detroit to be sold in street-level gram quantities.
Investigators got a break on busting the organization in August 2017, when investigators with the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West executed a search warrant at Manget Peterson’s residence and an associated hotel room, where his workers were distributing heroin.
Searches resulted in the seizure of two handguns, more than 70 half-gram baggies of heroin ready for distribution, and other evidence of drug trafficking.
Manget Peterson’s brother, Willie, was identified as the leader and drug supplier of the organization.
Multiple sources told investigators the Peterson organization distributed kilograms of heroin in Huntington on nearly a weekly basis, using a network of re-distributors.
Law enforcement officials working on that case then learned that the Drug Enforcement Administration in Detroit had opened an investigation into Willie Peterson after a search of his residence in July 2017 resulted in the seizure of more than 360 grams of fentanyl.
The DEA’s investigations in West Virginia and in Detroit have resulted in additional drug seizures. As of April 3, that amounted to 760 grams of heroin, 450 grams of fentanyl, and 167 grams of cocaine.
Officials estimated the amount of fentanyl seized prior to today’s arrests could have resulted in the death of more than 250,000 people.
The arrest sting began before dawn Tuesday, with support from the West Virginia National Guard and helicopter surveillance from the sky above Huntington. More than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers took part.
The arrests were associated with various narcotics, violent crime, and firearms-related charges at the federal and state level.
“One thing I want to make clear is, this operation is not the last operation,” said Chris Evans, special agent in charge of DEA’s Louisville Division Office. “The men and women of the DEA are here, will continue to be here and will continue to fight for the people of this area.”