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Feds: 25 arrested in Brockton heroin ring crackdown

Print | Comments () Posted by Martin Finucane November 18, 2010 12:41 PM

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By Brian R. Ballou, Michael Bello, and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- Twenty-five people were arrested today in seven different communities as part of a crackdown on a large heroin distribution organization, federal prosecutors said.

Photos: 25 arrested during predawn raids

The arrests were made in Brockton, Hanover, Easton, Dedham, Lynn, Somerville, and Stoughton.

"Today's arrests should be a clear signal to those distributing drugs in our neighborhoods that the federal government is aggressively working with state and local law enforcement to track their movements, find their associates and close down their operations," US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said in a statement.

Prosecutors said that the investigation was aided by court-authorized wiretaps of 10 phones used by the ring, which distributed "significant quantities of heroin in and around Brockton."

Sixteen search warrants were also executed in multiple counties, prosecutors said. The investigation began in December 2009.

In Brockton, so many suspects were arrested that there was not enough room to hold them in the police station's holding cells. Some suspects were kept in a large sheriff's van outside the station. They were taken in, one by one, for processing.

The investigation was part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group, which includes local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

"Urban communities have our challenges, but make no mistake, residents of this city are no less deserving of a peaceful quality of life," said Brockton Mayor Linda M. Balzotti. "We are not going to tolerate this kind of activity in our community. We will continue to remain vigilant."