One morning last week, federal, state and local law enforcement officers raided the Atlanta area home of former NBA player Javaris Crittenton.

He was one of more than a dozen people arrested and charged with drug trafficking in a series of raids in the metro.

The suspects were indicted late last week on charges including conspiracy to commit the crime of trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to distribute marijuana, according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.

Multiple national news sources reported on Crittenton’s brief NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards. He played just a single season with Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2007 NBA draft.

The 26-year-old is accused of being part of an Atlanta metro drug trafficking ring that sold kilos of cocaine and hundreds of pounds of marijuana. The group was reportedly under investigation by a strike force comprised of federal, state and local agencies for about a year and a half.

Crittenton and six other defendants, who range in age from 28 to 44, face state charges. The District Attorney’s Gangs and Drugs Unit will prosecute them in Fulton County Superior Court.

The remaining half-dozen defendants will be tried by federal prosecutors.

You might recall that before the arrest, Crittenton and his cousin were indicted by a grand jury in the murder of a 22-year-old Atlanta woman.

Crittenton had been out on bail at the time of his arrest last week.

Clearly, he faces some of the most severe punishments possible under the law in his cases. His criminal defense attorneys will conduct detailed analyses of the evidence in both matters as they fight to protect his rights and freedom.

Source: Buckhead Patch, “Drug Trafficking Sting Catches 14 Metro Atlanta Suspects,” Bob Pepalis, Jan. 15, 2014