Man pleads guilty to heroin-dealing playground drug ring

A large-scale heroin and painkiller ring that operated at a playground has led to a guilty plea for one Philadelphia man.

Raheem Cuffee pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to selling heroin near the Wiles Hill Playground in Morgantown, West Virginia, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, adding that heroin dealers from major cities, including Philadelphia, are actively delivering drugs to small towns in West Virginia, where the addiction rate is high.

Cuffee was one of 21 individuals charged in the 65-count federal indictment, WDTV reported, also stating that the leader of the operation, Juwan Woods of Philadelphia, was sentenced in August to 87 months in prison.

Cuffee pleaded guilty to a charge of Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 feet of a Protected Location for dealing drugs so close to a playground, and he now faces up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million, WDTV added.

The case was prosecuted with the involvement of several agencies, including the FBI, the West Virginia State Police and the Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, according to WDTV.