More than 80 people have been arrested in a sweeping investigation of Queens gang members.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that the large-scale “Operation: Under Siege” investigation has led to the arrests of dozens of individuals on murder, weapons, drugs and other charges.
The investigation began in early 2008, focusing on an alleged drug and gun trafficking network in Far Rockaway. Investigators learned that four specific sets of the Crips gang and individual members of the Bloods gang had teamed together to create the larger "Flocc" gang believed to have been making $15,000 a week from peddling guns and narcotics.
“This investigation strikes at the heart of a highly unified and criminally active street gang that turned the seaside Queens neighborhood of Far Rockaway into a war zone and threatened the lives and safety of innocent bystanders and law enforcement officers,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “This untraditional gang alliance’s alleged propensity for violence knew no bounds.”
So far 84 individuals have been arrested, including 45 alleged gang members with ties to the Crips -- one a former City Correction Officer -- and 24 alleged gangsters affiliated with the Bloods. Police are still seeking at least eight other individuals.
The information developed during the two-year probe, through the use of court-authorized wiretaps and other methods, brought on arrests for two homicides, numerous gang shootings and a plot to murder police officers on foot patrol in Jamaica, Queens. The police also seized 60 handguns, more than five kilograms of cocaine, 567 decks of heroin, two pound of marijuana and about $50,000 of drug money.
Among the arrested were the purported leaders of the four Crips factions -- Antoine Nance of the Wildmeda gang, Derrick Hardy of the Gang of Apes, Gquan Lloyd of the Get it in Bricks faction, and Kasson Brown of the Hassock Boys. The many others include suspected members of the Crips sets and Bloods members and associates. Some were arrested while they were allegedly en route to commit gang-related shootings.
District Attorney Brown said that the arrests and seizures should serve as a warning to others that despite the vulnerable economic times, law enforcement is committed to aggressively track down and prosecute criminals who “who seek to terrorize our communities and hold honest citizens hostage in their own homes.”
“For too long, these gang members have poisoned our streets with narcotics and put fear into the daily lives of innocent people,” Brown continued.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly extended his appreciation to all law enforcement involved with the bust.
“Detectives involved in this important case are to be commended for their outstanding work, as are the members of the District Attorney’s staff who supported them,” he said.
