Rapper Fetty Wap Arrested in NYC on Federal Drug Charges

The FBI arrested the well-known rapper on Thursday

Fetty Wap performs during the 2019 Rolling Loud music festival at Citi Field on October 12, 2019 in New York City.
Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

Rapper Fetty Wap was arrested at Citi Field Thursday afternoon on federal drug charges, with an indictment alleging the New Jersey-born artist was part of a nationwide drug trafficking ring.

Prosecutors say the rapper, whose real name is William Junior Maxwell II, was a "kilogram-level redistributor" for a drug ring that moved more than 100 kilos of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and crack.

A total of six people were charged, including a New Jersey correction officer. The other five were separately arrested over the last month and were all ordered detained pending trial.

All six face one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances; all of the defendants but Maxwell also face firearms charges.

"As alleged, the defendants transported, distributed and sold more than 100 kilograms of deadly and addictive drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, on Long Island, deliberately contributing to the opioid epidemic that has devastated our communities and taken too many lives," Brookyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

The 30-year-old Paterson native, who lost an eye to glaucoma as a child, has had a troubled life. His brother was killed in their hometown a year ago, and his 4-year-old daughter died earlier this summer.

Maxwell was previously arrested on assault charges in Las Vegas in 2019 and DUI charges in New York in 2017.

Best known for singles like "Trap Queen" and "My Way," the two-time Grammy nominee released his newest project, "The Butterfly Effect", just last week.

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