(The Center Square) – New details have come out into last week’s nationwide takedown of a Washington state-based drug trafficking and money laundering enterprise with ties to a prominent Seattle-area Boys & Girls Clubs activist.
As previously reported by The Center Square, five of the 17 people arrested were from a Seattle-area family, and two brothers, Marquis and Markell Jackson, were the main leaders of the drug ring. Their mother, Matelita “Marty” Jackson, is well known for her activism and leadership position with Seattle’s Boys & Girls Clubs. She now faces charges that could put her away for life if convicted.
King County Boys & Girls Clubs confirmed they have severed all ties with Jackson.
David Reams, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Seattle Field Division, spoke with The Center Square about the longtime investigation that culminated in simultaneous raids earlier this month.
“It was the convergence of two different cases,” he said. “We had a case in Bellingham with Lummi Nation and really focused on that for the last year on the overdose deaths that occurred, four of them in less than a week.”