Philadelphia rapper Ar-Ab has found himself in the middle of a boatload of legal trouble after officials say he was part of a drug-trafficking organization in North Philly.
Ar, who officials believe to be the mastermind behind the organization, has been accused and charged for selling five kilos or more of cocaine, 280 grams or more of crack, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and over 100 grams heroin, throughout the area, alongside nine other members of the alleged organization.
According to a release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the organization ran from at least March 2017 to June 2018 with Ar, whose real name is Abdul West, at the forefront. Officials say the gang funneled their drugs through North Philly from California, using false identities and rental properties to “prevent detection and protect their drug supply.”
However, on September 11, 2017, Philly officials executed a search warrant “at a house owned by West on North Sydenham Street” and uncovered minimal amounts of crack, heroin, meth, cash and a handgun. Then eight months later, the FBI followed suit and executed a warrant on an apartment complex on Christopher Columbus Boulevard, uncovering 10 kilos of coke, nearly six pounds of meth and $20,000 in cash.
As a result, officials charged West and his crew with a possession, as well as “individual charges of possessional with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, crack, and heroin; distribution of methamphetamine; and a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.”
If convicted, according to U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, the defendants will be facing “major jail time.”
