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Hamilton,
Mercer County, N.J. – New Jersey State Police
today led a coalition of law enforcement
agencies in charging thirteen subjects on
racketeering, drug, and weapons offenses
in what has been dubbed Operation Fire Extinguisher.
The yearlong investigation targeted gun
and heroin distribution activities by a
violent set of the Bloods street gang operating
in the Burlington Township, New Brunswick
and Franklin Township (Somerset) areas.
More
than 16 law enforcement agencies from the
federal, state, county and local levels
have worked together to reveal a distribution
ring in which many of the targets have known
or suspected ties to the Bounty Hunter set
of the Bloods street gang.
“The
Bounty Hunters are a particularly violent
set of the Bloods street gang, and the targeted
defendants were involved in both drug and
gun trafficking,” said Attorney General
Anne Milgram. “By taking down this gang’s
leader in New Jersey, we are maximizing
our effectiveness in disrupting their criminal
activities and the violence they have inflicted
on our communities.”
“With
these arrests, we have stopped a significant
source of guns to gang members,” said Major
William Toms, Commander of the Intelligence
Section of the New Jersey State Police.
“Gangs dealing drugs and guns are dealing
death in our state,” he added.
On
August 16th, 2008, Ronald Kinston, aka “Bang
Boy,” 30, from Burlington City, was arrested
when intelligence revealed that a shipment
of handguns would be arriving at his residence
from North Carolina. Four semi-automatic
handguns were discovered secreted in the
hidden hydraulic
compartment of a 2002 Acura. That car was
driven by Torrey Grady, 25, from Leeland,
NC, who was arrested and charged with Conspiracy,
Receiving Stolen Property, and weapons offenses.
Kinston and Grady are currently in Burlington
County Jail.
A
search warrant executed at Kinston’s residence
that same day resulted in the seizure of
more than 300 decks of heroin, distribution
paraphernalia, cash, and hollow point ammunition.
At the time of his arrest, Kinston was wearing
a locator bracelet as a condition of parole.
He was restricted to his home except for
certain daytime hours on weekdays.
As
an O.G. (Original Gangster) the leader of
Bounty Hunter Bloods in New Jersey, Kinston
was charged with Racketeering, Conspiracy
to distribute CDS (cocaine and heroin),
Conspiracy to traffic weapons, Possession
of CDS (heroin), Possession with intent
to distribute, Possession within 1000 feet
of a school zone, and Possession of prohibited
ammunition. Four others arrested in this
operation have also been charged with racketeering.
The four guns delivered to Kinston’s home
were part of a theft of 24 new guns from
a firearms dealer in North Carolina.
The
drugs in this investigation have been distributed
throughout much of New Jersey. Daryl Walker,
aka “Brody,” 36, of Edison, controlled a
drug distribution network in the Middlesex/
Somerset County area. He is an O.G. in the
Bounty Hunter Bloods “Five Line” (a line
is a subset). His distribution network also
entered into Essex, Union, Burlington and
Monmouth Counties. Walker was a primary
distributor of heroin and Ecstasy in Operation
Fire Extinguisher. The operation is so named
because one of the street names for heroin
is “fire.”
Today,
teams executed search warrants at several
locations including Reading Road in Edison,
Northumberland Way in Monmouth Junction,
and Bayard St. in New Brunswick.
All
of those arrested today will be lodged in
Middlesex County Jail.
View
full size chart
A
partial list of items seized in Operation
Fire Extinguisher include:
-
6 handguns
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10 ounces of pure uncut heroin valued
at $30,000
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3 ounces of cocaine
-
3,000+ decks of heroin
-
550+ ecstasy pills
-
Approximately $23,000 in currency
-
Acura with a secret hydraulically operated
compartment
-
Ford Expedition
Prosecution
of this case is being handled by the New
Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. Other
law enforcement agencies working on Fire
Extinguisher are:
-
Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (Wilmington, NC and Trenton,
NJ)
-
New Jersey State Police
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Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office
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Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office
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Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office
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Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office
- Mercer
County Sheriff’s Office
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New Jersey State Parole
-
Delaware State Police
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Brunswick County (NC) Sheriff’s
Department
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Asbury Park Police Department
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Burlington City Police Department
-
Franklin Township (Somerset County) Police
Department
-
New Brunswick Police Department
-
North Brunswick Police Department
-
South Brunswick Police Department
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