Anne Arundel County police orchestrate largest cocaine bust in their history.

GLEN BURNIE, Md. —
Ten people, including an alleged drug kingpin, are facing illegal narcotics and gun charges in what police say is the largest cocaine bust in Anne Arundel County’s history.

Police said investigation of drug dealers led detectives to the kingpin and the massive seizure of cocaine.

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According to a grand jury indictment, 42-year-old Clayton Mooring of Glen Burnie allegedly used a business called Essential Freight LLC on Crain Highway as a front and stash location. Investigators believe that is where illegal drugs were accepted, processed, stored and distributed.

The indictment names nine others from Glen Burnie, Severn and Baltimore as part of the alleged drug conspiracy.

According to the indictment, at least five times since September 2022, Mooring received cars and trucks transported from Texas to Maryland. Each time, the vehicles contained a large volume of drugs. In April, police intercepted and seized a Ford pickup truck and found 17 kilograms of cocaine sewn into the seat cushions. They found more cocaine inside the business with a total street value of just under $2 million.

During the lengthy investigation, police said they seized 21 guns and other illegal drugs.

“Based on this investigation, we brought charges against multiple individual traffickers leading to this police department’s historic seizure of cocaine and other dangerous substances that never hit the streets,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.

Police said they are analyzing the 21 guns that were seized to determine if they were used in other crimes.