Authorities Break Up Suspected Local Drug Ring
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- More than a dozen people, including suspected gang members and drug dealers, have been indicted by a federal grand jury while still others have been rounded up by the state.
U.S. District Attorney David Hickton says the arrest of 24-year-old James Moore, of Larimar, and others in West Mifflin Thursday night by the state, and the federal indictment and arrest of 16 other people in the East Hills and Wilkinsburg is "significant."
"It's hard to measure in terms of dollars or kilos, but these individuals were trafficking in a significant amount of heroin," said Hickton.
The federal suspects who appeared in federal court today are known as the East Hills Bloods.
"Their crime spree included robberies, home invasions, intimidations and killing," Hickton added.
Like so many busts, police say they seized illegal weapons, cell phones and more as the suspects were rounded up in both operations.
Hickton says it's too early to know the impact on drug trafficking in the region.
"In the North Side, for example, we had approximately 70 defendants for similar behavior involving two other gangs," Hickton said. "Statistics show that those prosecutions have made those communities safer. We hope the same holds true in these communities."
There is no word just how many homicides can be connected to these suspects, and penalties range from a low of five years in prison to some suspects facing life and a $10 million fine.
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