Largest heroin/fentanyl bust ever in DC: 2 arrested; guns, $2.5 million in drugs seized

In a news conference Friday, DC Police Chief Peter Newsham and Mayor Muriel announced the breaking up of a major drug ring and two arrests.

In December, officers seized more than 40 kilos of heroin laced with fentanyl, more than 40 pounds of marijuana, and six semiautomatic handguns, acting on a search warrant in the 4200 block of Foote Street, Northeast. A Maserati automobile was also confiscated.

The mayor said it was the largest heroin bust ever in the DC region. It was estimated that the seized drugs were worth more than $2.5 million.

“During this opioid crisis that many of our communities in Washington, DC are suffering from, we are thankful to get this large amount of heroin off the streets that will hopefully prevent deaths in our city,” Newsham said. “Anyone who is selling illegal firearms in our community is contributing to the violence we see in our community.”

Linwood Douglas Thorne, 46, of Northeast, DC, was arrested on multiple drug and firearms charges on Thursday, January 3.

The bust came through an ongoing cooperation with the ATF and the FBI. One suspect was arrested in Virginia, the other in Baltimore.

“Because we have removed this heroin from our streets, we know that we have saved lives,” Bowser said. “For too many years, heroin has been a scourge in our community; it’s torn up families, and in recent years, it has become even more deadly.”