April 9, 2021 – Instead of taking the usual route utilized by many Michigan drug lords of the past, which has traditionally pointed directly south or into the hills of Appalachia, reputed Motor City kingpin Dajuan (Detroit D) Williams decided to head east to the mountains of Vermont and backwoods of Maine and west to the badlands of Montana and North Dakota to seek his fortune in the dope game, according to U.S. Prosecutors. He built a vast empire of power and pills, they say, cultivating sales turf from the natives and cutting local dealers in for a piece of the pie.

“Detroit D” Williams, 28, and seven members of his organization were indicted on 16 counts of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy charges back in December out of Burlington, Vermont, but Williams wasn’t arraigned in federal court until this week. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.

The DEA contends Williams flooded Vermont, Maine, Montana and North Dakota with cocaine, marijuana, speed, opiate pills in the late 2010s. DEA agents took Williams into custody on January 13 in Los Angeles at one of his various estates. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the case.

Williams was innovative in his decision to stay away from already-saturated markets in typical Detroit drug gang outposts like Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia and instead focus on untapped territory in Vermont, Maine, Montana and North Dakota, noted an internal DEA memo circulated throughout federal law enforcement email chains in 2019. According to the indictment, Williams laundered narcotics proceeds through the purchase of several luxury vehicles, including a customized black-colored Maserati, a white Audi A7 and a grey BMW.