Federal agencies bust major drug ring in Newark
Investigators said the drug ring operated out of a senior housing complex, leaving residents terrified for their safety.
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'Over the past year, the Bloods gang has terrorized the Kretchmer Homes public housing complex in Newark, New Jersey, using violence and fear to operate their drug trafficking business,' said Cheryl Ortiz, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
More than two dozen alleged gang members are charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
'This operation…removed numerous firearms and approximately 7,000 grams of heroin and fentanyl from our streets,' said Ortiz. 'That's enough fentanyl to kill 500,000 people.'
Investigators claim the suspects used clever packaging to make their product seem less destructive.
'We allege that the market fentanyl, the deadliest drug in our country, and cocaine, the most addictive drug in our country, by stamping wrappers with names like 'Scarface,' 'Coco Puffs,' [and] 'Purple Rain' to make the content inside the package less scary and more attractive.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said the raid was the result of a long-running investigation that used a variety of investigative techniques.
'Court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases by informants and undercover officers, hundreds of hours of surveillance, and search warrants on over a dozen locations in the Garden State,' said Habba.
The defendants are each facing 10-year mandatory minimum sentences, with the possibility of up to life in prison.
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