Leader of Notorious DC Drug Gang Sentenced; Residents Say Streets Are Safer
A leader of one of Washington, DC’s most notorious drug trafficking groups is sentenced to federal prison, along with other members of the criminal enterprise. The group, known as the Kennedy Street Crew (KDY), even used federal loan money to buy drugs in bulk.
29-year-old Kenneth Amedola Olugbenga was sentenced to more than 13 years behind bars.
Prosecutors say Olugbenga was one of the leaders of KDY, a drug trafficking organization that for years “terrorized a 12-block stretch of Northwest Washington’s Brightwood Park neighborhood,” including its namesake Kennedy Street.
“Put simply, the KDY Crew is a driver of the cycle of violence associated with drug trafficking and firearms that has plagued the Kennedy Street neighborhood for years,” wrote assistant U.S. attorney Matthew W. Kinskey ahead of sentencing.
Olugbenga was arrested in June 2023 and has been in federal custody since his arrest.
Prosecutors say the group smuggled suitcases of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs onto airplanes heading to the DC area, which were then sold on the street. Olugbenga alone took about 72 flights to the west coast to secure the drugs, getting caught once in 2021 in San Francisco.
In addition to the drug peddling, prosecutors say KDY set up phony businesses, including an auto detailing business that Olugbenga used to apply for a federal pandemic relief loan. That money was then funneled into buying more drugs.
Olugbenga was also pinned as the group’s lead money launderer, using a local casino to launder the proceeds.
He’s among the last of the 17 defendants to be sentenced.
A Safer Neighborhood
When KDY was active, prosecutors noted a spike in violent crime in that section of Northwest DC. Since the group was dismantled in 2023, crime has dropped, mirroring statistics from across the city.
“Back then, it felt like after a certain time, the neighbors would stay in. Now, after dark, you see people strolling the streets, getting soup, or ice cream,” said Donna Henry, who owns a restaurant in the area.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and local police participated.