Police bust ‘epicenter’ of Kensington drug activity

Metro file photo

Law enforcement busted an alleged drug house on the 1900 block of E. Dauphin Street in East Kensington Tuesday night, arresting eight people and seizing more than $11,000 worth of crack, heroin and cash, police said.

“There was open air drug sales … We watched their operation,” said Philadelphia Police Department 26th district Captain Michael Cram of the investigation leading to the raid. “We made an arrest. It led to a house. That’s where we made the recovery, the house that was the epicenter of the drug trade out there.”

SEPTA’s Transit Police, the Narcotics Unit and the Philadelphia Police Department 26th district jointly ran the operation, which was executed just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

SEPTA was involved due to the proximity to the York-Dauphin station of the Market-Frankford Line, a spokesperson confirmed.

“It’s a location that’s become a problem to the neighbors and the community. It’s a pedestrian route that a lot of people use to get to public transit and they gotta navigate around crack dealers and prostitutes,” Capt. Cram said.

This block has been under close police scrutiny since a triple shooting there on Sept. 27, Capt. Cram said.

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