Friday, 5:23 PM
11 alleged Boston gang members taken into custody
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff
Eleven alleged gang members described as "impact players" in Boston's most violent street wars have been taken into custody on drug and firearm charges in the last 10 days, law enforcement officials said today at a press conference.
The men were taken into custody as part on an ongoing crackdown on gang violence by Boston police, prosecutors, and federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
"These are real impact players," US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said at the press conference at US District Court in Boston.
The roundup included three men from the Bromley-Health housing project in Jamaica Plain who had already been convicted of drug trafficking and were sentenced Thursday to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said gang members are responsible for 75 percent of the city’s shootings.
"It's a big problem among a small group of people," Davis said. "Most of the time, we see the same people over and over again."
Since January, the crackdown on gang violence has taken 686 illegal guns off the street, Davis said.
