Alleged drug kingpin nabbed in Buckhead

An alleged drug kingpin from the Baltimore area was arrested two nights ago in Buckhead after recently relocating to the Atlanta area, a U.S Marshals spokesman tells CL.

U.S. Marshals spokesman Gavin Duffy tells CL that Jeffrey Cofield is “reportedly a major supplier of heroin in the Baltimore area.” He is also a “person of interest” on several weapons charges, media outlets report.

Duffy said the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force - which locates dangerous fugitives in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia - recently discovered that Cofield was in Atlanta. In a joint investigation and arrest with the Atlanta Police Department, Cofield was located and taken into custody “very peacefully,” or without incident, Duffy said.

Cofield was found in an associate’s condo in Buckhead, Duffy said. Authorities found cash, drugs, and an assault rifile and pistol. Two of his associates were also arrested.

“The Marshals Service has an integrated computer network that permits leads to be sent from all over the nation and be acted on immediately,” Chief Inspector Keith Booker told the AJC. “In this case, we were able to have Mr. Cofield in custody in less than 24 hours, before he could establish himself in Atlanta.”

Another marshal raid in the Old Fourth Ward along Edgewood Avenue last night was completely unrelated to Cofield’s arrest, Duffy told CL. APD told us last night that the department assisted the feds in locating a “wanted person” in the area but he or she was not there.

“It was a raid for a fugitive and some amount of narcotics were discovered,” Duffy said. “During the course of the event, narcotics were seen in plain view. Just one fugitive was taken into custody.”