Dozens indicted on drug charges
Gang is targeted in New Bedford
More than three-dozen alleged members of the Latin Kings gang, who officials said controlled much of the drug trade in the New Bedford area, have been indicted on federal or state drug charges, authorities announced yesterday.
The indictments unsealed yesterday concluded a yearlong investigation dubbed "Operation Kingfish," which led to charges against 37 alleged Latin Kings members who "plagued" New Bedford neighborhoods, court documents alleged.
Fifteen of the accused gang members were indicted on federal drug charges while the other 22 were indicted on state drug charges.
Officials at the US attorney's office said they were unaware if the alleged gang members had been assigned lawyers yesterday.
Officials were able to charge the reputed gang members with drug-related crimes after witnesses wore recording equipment while making drug purchases from the suspects, according to an affidavit by J. Michael Doyle, an FBI special agent assigned to the Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force.
"We determined that the New Bedford chapter of the Latin Kings was a significant street gang responsible for a disproportionate share of the drug trafficking and firearm violence in New Bedford." Doyle wrote in the affidavit. Task force members had been made aware that "if persons not affiliated with the Latin Kings try to sell drugs in the area they risk being beaten, stabbed, or shot."
The recent indictments were not the first for Massachusetts chapters of the Latin Kings, a nation wide gang started in Chicago in the 1960s, Doyle said.
"Coordinated law enforcement efforts have recently resulted in the dismantling of the Latin Kings in Lawrence, Lowell, Springfield, and Holyoke," US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in a written statement.
If convicted, some of the alleged gang members face up to 40 years in jail and a $2 million fine, officials said.
Glenn MacKinlay, assistant US attorney and antigang coordinator, said the office will continue its efforts to bring down other chapters of the Latin Kings in the state. "We have a sustained effort state-wide," he said.
Shelley Murphy of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 