FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A suspected drug kingpin from Baltimore has been arrested following an investigation in Marion County.
Members of the Three Rivers Drug Task Force, assisted by police officers from Fairmont and White Hall, conducted a search of a room at the Country Club Motor Lodge in Fairmont on Wednesday in an effort to gather evidence for other investigations.
In the room, police encountered Marcus Garland, 54, and then found paraphernalia, a duffel bag containing a large amount of currency, and dealer-level quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Authorities said Garland used the room as a staging area in order to break the drugs down and sell them nearby.
The room was paid for by an unidentified co-conspirator who traveled with Garland from Baltimore, transporting large quantities of dangerous drugs into West Virginia.
Garland has been charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, felony drug conspiracy and being a drug kingpin. He is being held in the North Central Regional Jail on a $300,000 bond.