page_title: Black Mafia Family
section_title: Operation Motor City Mafia
hierarchical_section_title: Black Mafia Family / Investigation / Operation Motor City Mafia
caption_attribution_description: English: Limousine with hidden compartments owned by BMF; Black Mafia Family article
context_page_description: The Black Mafia Family is a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the United States.
  The Black Mafia Family was founded in 1989 in Detroit by brothers Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and Terry "Southwest T" Flenory, and by 2000 had established cocaine distribution sales throughout the United States through their Los Angeles–based drug source and direct links to Mexican drug cartels. The Black Mafia Family operated from two main hubs: one in Atlanta for distribution run by Demetrius Flenory and one in Los Angeles to handle incoming shipments from Mexico run by Terry Flenory.
  The Black Mafia Family under Demetrius Flenory entered the hip-hop music business as BMF Entertainment in the early 2000s as a front organization to launder money from cocaine sales and to legitimize itself. BMF Entertainment served as a promoter for several high-profile hip-hop artists including Fabolous and Young Jeezy, and as a record label for their sole artist Bleu DaVinci. Demetrius Flenory and the Black Mafia Family became famous in hip-hop popular culture for their highly extravagant lifestyles.
context_section_description: Police investigation into the Black Mafia began sometime in the early 1990s, before the organization operated by Demetrius and Terry Flenory was named or reached peak distribution. The lead-up to the October 2005 indictments began with a series of large drug seizures and subsequent informant testimonies from BMF members. On October 28, 2003, a 2-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation began, coordinated by the DEA's Special Operations Division and codenamed "Operation Motor City Mafia".
  On April 11, 2004, BMF courier and high-level distributor Jabari Hayes was pulled over in Phelps County, Missouri along I-44 driving a 40-foot motor home, supposedly for swerving over the fog line. Two suitcases containing approximately 95 kilograms of cocaine and 572 grams of marijuana were found in the back of the Range Rover after a K-9 unit was alerted to drugs in the vehicle.
  In mid-September 2004, a wiretap on Rafael "Smurf" Allison, a low-level crack dealer in Atlanta, led an HIDTA task force to Decarlo Hoskins, a mid-level dealer. Hoskins informed them that he had grown up with two brothers, Omari McCree and Jeffrey Leahr, who were BMF members and able to supply multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine regularly. Wiretaps revealed that Omari McCree was a high-level distributor for the Flenory organization and was favored by Demetrius.
  On November 5, 2004, Jeffrey Leahr was pulled over with his girlfriend on I-75 in Atlanta due to the wiretaps. In the back seat was a duffel bag containing 10 kilograms of cocaine. They were released later that day in an attempt by HIDTA to gather more information in regards to their supplier and the organization using wiretaps. McCree and Leahr, facing a large debt to BMF for the lost cocaine, went on the run. When picked up June 8, 2005, McCree signed a confidential-source agreement and described his role in BMF, naming Demetrius Flenory as the source of the cocaine. Chad "J-Bo" Brown, supplied him with cocaine on behalf of Demetrius. These events and a number of others formed the backbone of the government's case. During trial, the government's star witness was William "Doc" Marshall.
  Testimony given during various trials say the Flenory organization operated as follows: BMF operated five stash houses in the Atlanta area. Approximately every 10 days, vehicles would arrive with 100–150 kilograms of cocaine packed in secret compartments. Workers at the stash houses were paid to unload the drugs and store them. Customers who ordered would call in and say they had their vehicle ready – meaning a transportation vehicle to put the narcotics in. Depending on the size of their order, they were directed to a particular stash house where they would pull in, go inside, hand over money in $5,000 bundles. The cocaine was usually sold at $20,000 per kilogram. The same vehicles would then be filled with cash (the proceeds from drug sales) to be sent back to the Mexican sources of supply. Workers inside the stash houses had certain duties, such as counting bulk amounts of cash, usually in the millions. Other people were packaging the cocaine for customers. BMF also received drugs through large containers at the airport containing 100–150 kilograms of cocaine, which they picked up and delivered to stash houses.
caption: Lincoln Navigator stretch limo owned by BMF used to transport money and cocaine.
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