| West
Trenton, N.J. – In the second operation
under a new intelligence-led policing initiative
directed against street gangs, federal,
state and local agencies today arrested
numerous members of the violent Bloods street
gang in a cooperative strike. Operation
Dawg Pound targeted the gang’s presence
in central New Jersey—predominantly
in Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
More
than two-dozen people have been charged
with crimes including conspiracy to commit
murder, racketeering, distribution of CDS,
and transfer of weapons.
The
announcement by Attorney General Stuart
Rabner, State Police Superintendent Colonel
Rick Fuentes, and Criminal Justice Director
Gregory Paw and Gerard P. McAleer, U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration Special
Agent in Charge took place in the newly
opened Regional Operations Intelligence
Center (ROIC) at State Police headquarters.
“Today’s
operation reflects a new, aggressive law
enforcement model that we’re using
to take down the most violent street gangs,”
said Attorney General Rabner. “It’s
a model that starts with effective intelligence
gathering by the State Police and other
agencies, and brings in state prosecutors
at the outset, to ensure that we dismantle
the hierarchy of these gangs with solid
cases. We will continue to work with our
many law enforcement partners to target
gangs terrorizing our communities.”
“Gang
members, awoke this morning to the terrifying
sounds of their impending arrests. A new
day has come and street gangs have been
targeted as an untenable threat to public
safety and peace in our state,” said
Colonel Rick Fuentes. “Gang members,
you bring this upon yourselves. The degree
to which your crimes degrade the quality
of life in New Jersey determines the amount
of law enforcement attention your gang receives,
and starts the countdown to its demise.”
“Today’s
street gangs reflect a higher level of organization
and a wider range of activity, including
drug and gun trafficking, money laundering
and the use of violence to protect and expand
their illegal operations,” said Director
Paw. “Fortunately, the more these
gang members do, the more we can charge
them with. We’re doing our best to
throw the book at them.”
Gerard
P. McAleer, Special Agent in Charge of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New
Jersey Division stated, “We will continue
to provide federal resources to our state
and local law enforcement partners in order
to dismantle and eliminate violent gangs
and their drug trafficking organizations.
The cooperation between agencies was paramount
to the success of this criminal organization
being eliminated from our community.”
“Street
gangs have unfortunately learned the power
of networking, but through a robust intelligence
sharing effort assisted by the ROIC, police
agencies are retaking the initiative and
retaking the streets in the name of law
and order,” said Lt. Colonel Frank
Rodgers, Deputy Superintendent of Investigations.
In
July 2006, Operation Nine Connect targeted
the Nine-Trey set of the Bloods, and provided
a rich reward in intelligence, which led
to other investigations, including Operation
Dawg Pound. The concept of intelligence-led
policing requires analysts to create threat
assessments based on both reported crimes
and intelligence sources.
In
2005, Trenton had its highest murder rate
ever with 31 deaths. Nineteen of those were
attributed to gang violence; the majority
of those were related to the Bloods. Furthermore,
over a five-day period in the spring of
2006, Bloods were believed to be responsible
for 15 Trenton shootings. More recently,
a spate of shootings in the Lakewood area
were also attributed to gang activity, and
specifically to the Bloods.
Today’s
arrests were effectuated by tactical teams
of law enforcement officers backed up by
helicopter surveillance, police canines,
undercover detectives, and intelligence
resources located at the ROIC. At the time
of this writing, approximately two-dozen
people are currently arrested and in custody
and five more wanted on warrants. Teams
executed additional search warrants. Approximately
three pounds of powder cocaine, 300 grams
of crack cocaine, distribution quantities
of heroin, $100,000 in currency and nine
weapons including a loaded Mac-11 sub-machine
gun with a silencer have been seized this
morning. Numerous spin-off investigations
are expected to result from the intelligence
gathered through today’s raids.
Bail
for all of the gang-related targets ranges
from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
Operation
Dawg Pound developed over eight months of
investigations involving 18 agencies including:
- New
Jersey State Police
-
N.J. Division of Criminal Justice
-
U.S. Attorney’s Office
-
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
-
Federal Bureau of Investigation
-
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office
-
Mercer County Sheriff’s Office
-
Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office
-
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office
- Asbury
Park Police Department
-
Dover Township Police Department
-
Ewing Police Department
-
Freehold Boro Police Department
-
Jackson Township Police Department
-
Lakewood Police Department
-
Long Branch Police Department
-
Trenton Police Department
|
