Galloway Man Arrested For His Part in Dangerous Drug Trafficking Ring

A Galloway Township man has been named as a leader/distributor in connection with a criminal street gang that used threats, intimidation and violence to maintain control of an illegal drug trade in Atlantic City.

Tyrone Ellis, 31, was one of 25 people associated with the gang that was arrested in pre-dawn raids Tuesday morning, March 26, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Kareem Young, 20, of Absecon, was named as a dealer, and was one of the 25 arrested on Tuesday. The 25 people arrested are among 34 total people who were charged, including two brothers who were previously charged in connection with Atlantic City’s first homicide of the year, Fishman said. They are charged with participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin since at least October of 2012.

Mykal Derry, 32, and Malik Derry, 22, both of Atlantic City, conspired to muder a rival drug dealer, and on Feb. 10 of this year, Malik Derry allegedly carried out the crime, Fishman said. They were arrested the following day.

F.B.I. agents and New Jersey State and Atlantic City police officers were involved in raids Fishman said “dealt a significant blow to the criminal street gang known as Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which allegedly operates in a section of Atlantic City that includes the public housing apartment complexes of Stanley Holmes, Carver Hall, Schoolhouse, Adams Court and Cedar Court.

An investigation that included surveillance, confidential informants, controlled drug purchases, record checks and telephone wiretaps exposed that Dirty Block acquires and distributes heroin, cocaine and prescription drugs; maintains various stash houses and drug dens; and possesses numerous illegal firearms to maintain control of drug distribution and to intimidate, threaten and kill rivals, according to documents filed and statements made in court.

Ellis, a.k.a “Rome,” Mykal Derry and several of their conspirators frequently carried firearms, despite prior convictions prohibiting their possession, Fishman said.

Defendants Maurice Thomas and Mark Frye are accused of leading a sophisticated drug trafficking organization that has multiple lines of supply and uses multiple subjects who meet with customers and distribute large quantities of heroin from multiple tower style apartment buildings, on multiple floors, Fishman said.

They allegedly provided more than 1,000 bricks of heroin to Ellis and Mykal Derry between October, 2012 and February, 2013, Fishman said. Thomas and Frye were intercepted via wiretap while dealing with Ellis and Mykal Derry, Fishman said.

“The defendants in this case created an atmosphere of fear and presented real danger to the people who shared their Atlantic City neighborhood,” Fishman said. “And they did it so that they could prosper from selling illegal drugs. The law-abiding people of New Jersey – whether they live in the suburbs, on a farm, or in the oldest housing project in New Jersey – deserve to have neighborhoods that are safe places to walk and raise their families. I really hope that today’s arrests will give them that chance.”

Dirty Block specialized in heroin, but also dealt with illegal prescription drugs and cocaine, Fishman said.

According to Fishman, when conspirators lied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about the extent of damage done to their homes and were subsequently arrested, Dirty Block was assisted by a corrupt bailsman in securing their release.

“This operation has been an excellent example of how cooperating law enforcement can take down a criminal organization and therefore make our community safer,” Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor James P. McClain said. “In Atlantic County, we will continue to work with all other available law enforcement agencies to take down those criminal groups that remain or those that might spring up to replace this one.”

“The Dirty Block gang had placed a community under siege and extraordinary law enforcement efforts became necessary,” FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez said. “The collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities have made possible the return of the community to its people.”

Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Velazquez; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor McClain; the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Ernest Jubilee and Public Safety Director William R. Glass; and the South Jersey Safe Streets Violent Incident and Gang (“Safe Streets”) Task Force, with the investigation leading to today’s arrests.
He also thanked the N.J. State Police; the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Northfield Police Department; the Vineland Police Department; the Brigantine Police Department; the Millville Police Department; the Mullica Township Police Department; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; and the U.S. Secret Service for their contributions.

The complete list of defendants reads as follows:

Age

Residence

Role

Ibn Abdullah

20

Pleasantville, N.J.

Enforcer/dealer

Kamal Allen

25

Atlantic City, N.J.

Enforcer/dealer

Rashada Allen

26

Atlantic City, N.J.

Facililtator

Kareem Bailey

19

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/youngin’

Wanda Bishop

32

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor

Wallace Boston

61

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer

Jodi Brown

40

Atlantic City, N.J.

Facilitator/dealer/tester

Latasha Cherry

29

Millville, N.J.

Facilitator/courier

Ronald Davis

27

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer

Terry Davis

24

Atlantic City, N.J.

Enforcer/dealer

Malik Derry

22

Atlantic City, N.J.

Enforcer/distributor

Mykal Derry

32

Atlantic City, N.J.

Leader/distributor

Quasim Duncan

19

Mays Landing, N.J.

Dealer

Tyrone Ellis

31

Galloway, N.J.

Leader/distributor

Mark Frye

32

Paterson, N.J.

Supplier

Jeffrey Harvey

28

Collings Lakes, N.J.

Distributor

Kasan Hayes

26

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/runner/youngin’

Ronald Johnson

29

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor

Raymond Mack

19

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/youngin’

Lamar Macon

24

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/runner/youngin’

Ambrin Qureshi

32

Atlantic City, N.J.

Courier/runner/facilitator

Franklin Simms

29

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor/facilitator

Kimberly Spellman

31

Egg Harbor Township, N.J.

Courier/runner/facilitator

Laquay Spence

22

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/runner/youngin’

Shaamel Spencer

29

Atlantic City, N.J.

Enforcer/dealer

Rayshell Strong

32

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor/courier/facilitator

Patricia Taylor

33

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor

Maurice Thomas

31

Paterson, N.J.

Supplier

Aree Toulson

24

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor

Dwayne Townsend

19

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/runner/youngin’

Tiarrah Turner

23

Atlantic City, N.J.

Courier

Dominique Venable

23

Atlantic City, N.J.

Dealer/runner/youngin’

Kareem Young

20

Absecon, N.J.

Dealer/youngin’

Saeed Zaffa

23

Atlantic City, N.J.

Distributor