Interscope Comes Forward On Illegal Cocaine, Drug Trafficking Reports

Days after making headlines for having a role in multiple cocaine drug dealings at its headquarters, Interscope Records has come forward to deny all accusations.

Speaking via a statement, Interscope denied taking part in any drug-related operations.

"The information being reported in the press regarding Interscope Records' involvement with the ongoing criminal prosecution of James Rosemond is both erroneous and completely unsupported. Interscope Records has been informed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York that there is no evidence that any employee of UMG or Interscope Records had any involvement in the drug trafficking ring being prosecuted by that office, nor any knowledge of the contents of any of the packages that were purportedly shipped to its offices. Further, neither UMG nor Interscope Record are a subject or target of the investigation. UMG and Interscope will continue to cooperate with the United States Attorney's Office regarding this matter." (Statement)

Details of Interscope's alleged involvement emerged online a few days ago.

Members of a narcotics ring that sent large amounts of cocaine and cash back and forth across the U.S. in music "road cases" arranged pickups and deliveries at the offices of Interscope Records, a music industry power whose roster includes artists like U2, Eminem, and Lady Gaga, according to federal investigators. Department of Justice prosecutors this week provided defense lawyers with shipping records detailing "pickups and deliveries" made at Interscope's Los Angeles office by a cargo firm that was used to transport the music cases, which were alternately stuffed with kilos of cocaine and upwards of $1 million in cash. (The Smoking Gun)

Incarcerated music executive Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, known for managing Interscope artist Game, is primarily linked to the case.

Federal officials say these are findings from a year-long Drug Enforcement Administration investigation, the same investigation that led to the indictment of Czar Entertainment CEO and Game manager James Rosemond on 18 felony charges that could result in having him sentenced to life in prison. TSG further reports that while its unclear how the players in the narcotics ring had access to Interscope's offices, the Game records on the label and his road manager has been named in the trafficking plot. Rosemond is currently being held without bail in Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. (XXL Mag)

After going on the run for drug-related charges last spring, Rosemond was eventually arrested over the summer.

The hip-hop mogul spotted the agents at about noon as he walked out of the W Hotel in Union Square, sources said. Once on the street, Rosemond walked north and tried to outrun the agents until he was finally arrested on 21st Street and Park Avenue South. The US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn charged Rosemond in a complaint today with orchestrating the delivery of multiple kilos of cocaine from Los Angeles to the New York City metropolitan area. Millions of dollars in drug proceeds went from New York back to California, the complaint charged. (New York Post)