Feds: Baltimore Officer Dealt Drugs at Police Station

BALTIMORE --

A city police officer, along with four other people, has been indicted on drug and gun charges.

Officer Daniel Redd, 41, was taken into custody Tuesday. Abdul Zakaria, 34, Shanel Stallings, 32, Dyrell Garrett, 33, and Malik Jones, 40, also face charges.

According to the seven-count indictment, from January to July 2011 the defendants conspired to distribute heroin.

"As evidenced by this indictment and other recent cases throughout the state, the Department of Justice continues to make rooting out corruption at all levels one of its top criminal priorities," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard McFeely. He credited Commissioner Fred Bealefeld for his role in the probe.

Redd, a uniformed patrol officer in the Northwest District of Baltimore, and Zakaria headed the drug organization, according to an affidavit. The affidavit alleges that Zakaria and others obtained heroin from suppliers in Africa and distributed the heroin to customers, including Redd, Garrett and Jones.

"It is even more egregious that much of this illegal trafficking was allegedly being conducted by an officer who was sworn to stop the very activity he now has been charged with," McFeely said.

The affidavit also alleges that on March 31, Redd, while in full police uniform, provided heroin to Zakaria in the parking lot of the Northwest District Police Station.

"The allegations in the indictment and the affidavit are that Officer Redd was the central participant in the conspiracy," U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said on Tuesday.

A lot of the evidence detailed in the affidavit was from cellphone communication beginning March 2011, and investigators even said that Redd's police radio can be heard in the background during some of the calls.

"They discussed how (and where) to distribute drugs -- there are allegedly references in those conversations to Office Redd engaging in drug dealing while on duty and while in police uniform," Rosenstein said.

Baltimore City Police Department public information officer Anthony Guglielmi said the department contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation after receiving a tip about potential misconduct.

"It's a black eye for the police department, but the silver lining is that an individual who is potentially committing some egregious acts -- and really jeopardizing the trust that we work very hard to gain with the community -- is now facing a federal judge," Guglielmi said.

If convicted, officers said Redd and the four other suspects face a minimum sentence of 55 years in jail and a maximum of life in prison -- and Redd faces even more time if convicted of the charges of possession and intent to sell

Along with the drug charges, Guglielmi said that Redd is also charged with three counts of use of a firearm in the course of drug dealing.

According to The Baltimore Sun, Redd was hired in 1994, fired in 2002 for sleeping on the job, and later rehired after a court order.

Refresh WBALTV.com often and watch WBAL-TV 11 News for the latest updates.