Dozens Arrested on Federal Drug Charges in Middletown, N.Y. Gang Bust: Sources

The suspects are alleged members of the violent Bloods gang.

A task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies arrested dozens of members of a violent gang in Middletown, N.Y., in a widespread drug investigation, NBC New York has learned. 

Thirty-three alleged members and associates of a drug trafficking organization operating in and around the upstate city are charged in an indictment with federal narcotics violations, law-enforcement officials say.

The organization was run by a subgroup of the Bloods gang known as "9 Trey." The group dealt in heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, sources familiar with the investigation said.

The indictment alleges the gang got their drugs from suppliers in the Bronx and then brought the drugs to a location they called "The Sneaker Store." There, the drugs were allegedly doled out to distributors who, in turn, sold the narcotics at a location they called "The Studio."

Gang members often changed the location of the distribution points to avoid law-enforcement detection, the indictment charges.

Law-enforcement officials say 25 gang members have been arrested thus far and more arrests are expected.

The arrests are being conducted by the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, DEA, New York State Police, Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Orange County District Attorney's Office, among other agencies.

Thursday's arrests are the latest in a series of gang busts over the last two years targeting violent gang activity in the Hudson Valley, officials said.

The defendants will appear in federal court in White Plains later today.

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