Rayful Edmond, infamous for his drug empire in DC, has passed away at 60 while in a halfway house in Florida
Washington DC: Rayful Edmond, a well-known drug dealer from the 80s, has died in Florida. He was living in a halfway house at the time.
He was just 60 years old. A representative from the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed his death but didn’t share any details about what happened.
They mentioned that for safety and privacy reasons, they can’t disclose specifics about the cause of death. The local medical examiner’s office also didn’t have any records on him.
Edmond was still serving his sentence and was supposed to be released in November 2025. He had been sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted in 1990 for running a massive drug operation.
At his peak, he controlled about a third of the cocaine trade in Washington DC during the crack epidemic. Even in prison, he managed to keep his drug business going.
He was just 25 when he went to prison but continued to smuggle drugs in through visitors. He had inmates’ girlfriends bring in drugs hidden in balloons during visits.
In a famous interview with 60 Minutes, he talked about how he ran his drug empire, even from behind bars. He admitted to dealing cocaine, crack, heroin, and marijuana while incarcerated.
He was known for moving over two tons of cocaine from Colombia to DC and even sold drugs to other inmates.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder compared him to the Babe Ruth of crack dealers, highlighting how he managed to sell so much while locked up.
Edmond partnered with another notorious dealer while in prison and used coded language to communicate with him. When that partner died, he teamed up with someone from the Cali Cartel.
Eventually, a jailhouse informant tipped off the authorities, leading to his downfall. When confronted, he cooperated with the feds, helping to arrest 15 people.
He even entered the witness protection program at one point to escape the fallout from his actions. Edmond expressed regret for the impact his drug dealing had on his community, especially on children.
His criminal activities led to the prison bureau creating a task force to tackle drug dealing inside prisons.
