MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Five people have been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges, as prosecutors claim they were involved in a massive heroin and fentanyl operation.
Heroin is potentially deadly, and prosecutors said five men had more than a kilogram of it. Then there’s fentanyl, a drug that’s 50 times stronger than heroin, and prosecutors said the suspects had 400 grams of that.
A federal grand jury indicted the men on Sept. 19, but they only announced it Thursday.
District attorney Michael Dunavant said in a release that Decarlos Rodgers, Darius Chalmers, Entonyo Chalmers, Louis Taylor and Blake Owens were all selling the drugs, and sometimes unwittingly to uncover cops.
Blake Owens is the son of Memphis’ so-called “topless nightclub kingpin” Danny Owens. In the ’90s, both father and son were given long prison sentences for other crimes, only for the son to be released and allegedly get involved in new crimes.
Blake Owens, along with his father, went to prison in the ’90s for gambling, prostitution and money laundering. Blake Owens served more than 15 years for kidnapping and torturing someone. A federal website shows he was released September 2007.
This June, prosecutors indicted 30 people in a big heroin and fentanyl trafficking scheme. It turns out, prosecutors said, all five men in this recent indictment were also part of that.
All five are charged with possession with intent to distribute and being convicted felons in possession of handguns. The men face anywhere from 10 years to life in prison if convicted of these charges.
Prosecutors said Owens is looking at a minimum of 15 years. His father, Danny Owens, was released from federal prison in 2016 after spending 20 years in prison. He is not charged in this indictment.