34 Charged In 2 Big Heroin Gang Busts In NJ – Newark, NJ Patch
Thirty-four people were charged this past week in two big New Jersey heroin-trafficking gang busts that involved the FBI and various other law enforcement organizations.
In one roundup, 27 people were charged for their roles as members, associates and suppliers of a drug-trafficking organization that distributed heroin and crack cocaine and used firearms to protect their operation, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced this week.
The charges and arrests resulted from a long-running wiretap investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in conjunction with police in New Jersey and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Also, following a seven-week investigation, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Gang Task Force, along with officers from several partnering law enforcement agencies, charged seven people in a drug gang bust.
Seven arrest warrants were issued including one for the arrest of Hassan Mosby, 39, of Lyndhurst. Mosby has been charged with being the leader of the narcotics trafficking network.
The search warrants led to the recovery of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, ecstasy, pharmaceutical grade pills and approximately $6,500 in U.S. currency, according to the HCPO. In addition, four vehicles, one handgun and various amounts of handgun ammunition were recovered.
In the wiretap bust, the charges include operating a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracies to distribute one kilogram of heroin and/or 280 grams of crack cocaine largely in the Newark area.
Twenty of the defendants arrested on Tuesday were scheduled to appear this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III. Five defendants were already in custody on state charges and two remain at large.
“These defendants are charged with orchestrating and participating in a massive drug trafficking organization that pumped heroin and crack cocaine into the streets of Newark and surrounding areas virtually non-stop,” Carpenito said.
“As alleged in the complaint, they operated out of an abandoned home in Newark that they turned into a fortress protected by illegal firearms, which featured a fast-food-style drive-through window for the quick and easy sale of these dangerous drugs.”
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Several of the defendants charged are members and associates of a Bloods-affiliated gang called the “CKarter Boys” – a play on “the Carter,” the name of the drug distribution building in the 1991 film New Jack City. As Bloods members, the CKarter Boys use the letters “CK” to signify “Crip Killer,” a sign of disrespect to their rival gang, the Crips, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
The investigation revealed that the organization’s leaders – Shaheed Blake, a/k/a “Sha,” a/k/a “Sha Gotti,” a/k/a “Bruh,” and Anderson Hutchinson, a/k/a “Murda Rah” – operated a massive drug market that operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, flooding the streets of New Jersey with heroin and crack cocaine and generating approximately $10,000 in daily revenue, according to the release.
Blake, Hutchinson and members of their organization sold heroin and crack cocaine to customers out of two neighboring, abandoned houses near the Newark-Irvington border. These drug dens were located in the heart of a residential community, just two blocks from the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, an Irvington public school serving children from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, according to the release.
The organization made efforts to fortify one of the abandoned residences – 921 South 20th Street in Newark – by boarding up all doors and windows until it was virtually impenetrable. The defendants accessed the residence by way of a ladder to a second-floor window, pulling the ladder inside behind them, according to the release.
Once inside, the defendants would sell heroin and crack-cocaine through a small hole that was cut out on a first-floor outer wall, allowing customers to purchase narcotics in exchange for currency, similar to a restaurant’s drive-through window.
In a backyard shed, the defendants stored narcotics, a communal cell phone that was used to operate the business and firearms, including a .45 caliber Hi-Point and 9mm Sig Sauer firearms, and several boxes of .45 caliber and .380 caliber ammunition that were seized during the investigation.
In addition to the charges against Blake, Hutchinson, and numerous members of their distribution operation, five of the organization’s drug suppliers were charged.
Here are the 27 charged:
The other bust came after the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative executed multiple search warrants and arrest warrants. Approximately 100 law enforcement officers were involved in the operation, according to the HCPO.
There were a total of seven search warrants executed last week. Four search warrants were
executed on residences in Jersey City, one search warrant was executed on a residence in Lyndhurst and two search warrants were executed on vehicles.
“The primary focus of this investigation was the arrest of individuals associated with Jersey City’s most violent gangs,” said Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
Those also charged were:
- Kashawn Cason, 21, of Jersey City
- Sean Crawford, 56, of Jersey City
- Richard Lloyd, 20, of Jersey City
- Samantha Burke, 27, of Jersey City
- Qualesha Burrows, 22, of Jersey City
- Quaneesha Washington, 28, of Lyndhurst