Metro

Following a yearslong investigation and recent arrests, state Attorney General Dave Sunday, along with state and local law enforcement partners, announced the takedown of an “upper-level, sophisticated” Philadelphia-to-Cambria County drug-trafficking ring.

During a news conference Monday afternoon in Johns­town, Sunday said the ring was responsible for bringing cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and marijuana to western Pennsylvania.

The collaborative investigation, assisted by the 54th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, culminated this month with a recommendation of charges against organization heads Khalil Henderson and Hayes Kelly and eight other conspirators.

Seven of the 10 defendants are in custody; three others deemed lesser contributors to the trafficking ring were mailed summons to appear in court, Sunday said.

In October, investigators stopped a co-conspirator carrying bulk marijuana as he exited a Greyhound bus in Johnstown, and in the months since, police executed a series of search warrants.

“The culmination of a yearslong, collaborative investigation is the closure of this cross-state pipeline that served as a criminal source of poisons for Cambria County,” Sunday said. “Along with our partners, we can say with confidence that this sophisticated drug-trafficking ring has been decimated.”

Charged are Henderson, 35; Hayes Kelly, 43; Nasir Kelly, 26; Kadeem Brackett, 36; Jason Dull, 53; Brayanne Lightfoot, 29; and Janea Polk, 26.

They are charged with felony corrupt organizations, possession with intent to deliver and related offenses.

Facing lesser charges are Tracey Freeman, 57; Darrion Dixon, 45; and Susan Heider, 75.

The Henderson-Kelly organization deployed counter-surveillance tactics to detect and combat law enforcement. Some members of the organization served as spotters for police as drug deals were conducted in neighborhoods.

Law enforcement became aware of the trafficking in 2022, and, through undercover buys and other tactics, determined Henderson and Hayes Kelly were the heads of the operation. Both men were from Philadelphia and had ties to the area.

Ultimately, the case was put into the 54th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury convened by the Office of Attorney General in Allegheny County.

In October, Nasir Kelly was arrested when he got off a Greyhound bus in Johnstown, carrying bulk marijuana transported from Philadelphia.

A couple of days later, Hayes Kelly and Kadeem Brackett were stopped in a BMW in Bedford County. Neither man had a license. The BMW was seized and searched. Large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl were found in the car, the AG’s office said in a press release.

A few days later, several search warrants were served at locations in Johns­town. Police found cocaine at homes on Charles Street and Cypress Avenue, and a stolen firearm at a home on Park Avenue. That was Janea Polk’s home — Polk is Nasir Kelly’s girlfriend.