Cops: Dealers used texts to reach buyers

Five men who used group text messages to reach addicts are facing charges for operating a heroin trafficking ring in Montgomery County.

The principal members of the drug ring sold heroin and cocaine to 66 drug addicts in the western part of the county, officials announced Monday.

They sold the drugs by sending "mass group texts to potential buyers revealing the types, stamps, and locations where heroin and cocaine could be purchased," First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.

Steele said the investigation into drug trafficking in Pottstown included information from the father of a drug overdose victim. Detectives used surveillance at hotels to stop dozens of people leaving rooms where drugs were sold. They stopped several of them to seize their heroin.

As part of the investigation, police seized 1,108 bags of heroin, 109 bags of cocaine, $5,419 in cash, two firearms, and 12 cell phones.

Officials filed charges Monday against Tyrig Darnell Coleman, 25, of Pottstown; Martez Eric Cooper, 22, of Pottstown; Khaleaf Quinton Lindsay, 19, of Philadelphia; Ryan Richard Conquest, 26, of Philadelphia; and Tyrek Waples, 20, of Philadelphia.

Each man is facing several drug-related charges. They were all scheduled for arraignment Monday afternoon in Pottstown.

- Laura McCrystal