Boston police, feds nab 17 in gang bust
‘Impact players,’ 22 guns seized
Seventeen rival gang members accused of wreaking havoc in Dorchester and Roxbury were arrested while cops seized 22 guns in an undercover operation they say will make Boston streets safer this summer.
“Every one of these guns represents a shooting that will not take place, a homicide that will not occur,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said yesterday. “Boston will be a safer place this summer because of the efforts of the officers involved in this case.”
Conley and Boston police Commissioner William B. Evans said that in an effort dubbed Operation Hanover, Boston’s gang police worked with federal ATF agents who made undercover drug and gun buys against members of the Wendover and Cameron street gangs.
In total, 17 suspects described as “impact players” were arrested, the youngest just 16 years old. They were slapped with weapons and drug charges including firearms trafficking and distribution of fentanyl, authorities said.
Conley said the drug and gun trades have spurred bloodshed on city streets. “It is at this place, this intersection between guns and drugs, that we see the violence and retaliation that claims so many lives in our country and our community,” he said.
In the course of the investigation, officers made undercover drug and gun buys, some of which were caught on video or audio, Conley said.
The suspects were arrested yesterday and Tuesday and held on bails between $15,000 and $250,000, authorities said.
The gang members are facing a total of 98 charges, including nine counts of firearms trafficking, 12 counts for high-capacity or assault weapons violations and 19 counts for distribution of fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana. Six of the suspects face enhanced charges for second or subsequent offenders, prosecutors said.
The youngest, Jorge Rivera, 16, was indicted as a youthful offender on one count of trafficking in one to two firearms and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. He was held yesterday on $250,000 bail, prosecutors said.
Most of the suspects were between the ages of 22 and 39. The eldest, Wayne Rogers, 52, was indicted on two counts of distributing marijuana and one count of distributing cocaine with two prior convictions for possession with intent to distribute.