Koepsell Locked Down Wednesday Morning

Koepsell Education Center was placed on temporary lockdown Wednesday morning after a teacher observed police activity near the South Lake elementary school in Eastpointe.

The teacher observed the officers near the school as he arrived for work. He notified administration of the activity, and the school was placed on lockdown.

As students arrived, they were directed to the cafeteria and teachers were located in the halls and entrances. Also members of the safety patrol were kept in the building due to the presence of the officers, according to superintendent Pamela Balint.

"I would rather err on the side of caution," said Balint, who added that the school tried to make arrival as safe and smooth as possible. "I am glad the teacher was obsevant and reported what he saw."

The lockout was lifted after 30 minutes when district officials consulted with police departments from St. Clair Shores and Eastpointe to determine if the issue was settled.

The lockout may have been caused by a raid by federal agents on a home of a suspected drug kingpin. According to The Detroit News, federal agents raided the Eastpointe home of Carlos Powell about 7:45 a.m., the same time the teacher was heading to school.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials did not return phone calls inquiring about the exact location of the raid.

According to a release from the from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Powell was one of 12 individuals who were charged in an indictment with violating various federal drug laws which include conspiracy to distribute in excess of 30 kilograms of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of marijuana and laundering in excess of $21 million in U.S. currency.

According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, the 12 individuals are alleged to have operated a drug organization which dealt in multi-kilogram quantities of marijuana, heroin and cocaine in Metro Detroit.

"These indictments dismantled a large drug trafficking organization that supplied heroin, cocaine and marijuana into communities across Michigan," DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert Corso said in a release. "The scope of this investigation is exemplified by the millions of dollars in illegal drug profits they laundered, as well as by the large quantities of drugs that were seized."