'Preppy Drug Ring' Busted in Affluent Philly Suburbs

11 members allegedly wanted to keep elite high schools stocked
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2014 5:33 AM CDT
'Preppy Drug Ring' Busted in Affluent Philly Suburbs
This photo shows drugs, money, guns, and other illegal items seized when Lower Merion Police broke up a drug distribution ring, during a news conference in Montgomery County, Pa, April 21, 2014.   (AP Photo/The Philadelphia Inquirer, Clem Murray)

After a four-month investigation, authorities yesterday busted 11 alleged members of a drug ring—a drug ring notable because some of its members were students and alums of pricey prep schools living in the leafy, affluent "Main Line" suburbs outside Philadelphia. Their goal, police say, was to keep five elite high schools and three colleges in Montgomery County, Pa., constantly stocked with drugs—they allegedly called it the "Main Line Takeover Project," CBS Philly reports. One of the alleged ringleaders, 18-year-old Timothy Brooks, "said this was important to him because he remembered not always being able to buy marijuana when he was in high school," according to investigators. Brooks graduated from the Haverford School, a $35,000-per-year, all-boys prep school, in 2013; his alleged co-ringleader, 25-year-old Neil Scott, was a 2008 grad of the school.

Police say Scott had drugs shipped from California to his Haverford apartment; he sometimes also used his parents' Paoli house or Brooks' parents' house in wealthy Villanova to deal the drugs. The nine dealers, ages 17 to 29, who allegedly worked beneath Brooks and Scott were told to move at least one pound of marijuana per week, police say, and the DA says the pair "were using very traditional business practices," including discount incentives and lines of credit, to push their product, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. They also allegedly moved cocaine, hash oil, and ecstasy. Police seized a stash of those drugs, plus $11,000 in cash, two AR-15 rifles, one handgun, and a lot of ammo. "This is a huge story because of the prestige of the schools involved," one of Brooks' friends tells the Washington Post. "I knew he was into some sketchy stuff, but I had no idea he was a drug kingpin." (More drug ring stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X