Crime & Safety

Cops Bust Up Violent Drug Gang In North Jersey, Prosecutors Say

Authorities have announced charges against 26 alleged members of a major drug ring in North Jersey.

NEWARK, NJ — Authorities have announced charges against 26 alleged members of a major drug ring in North Jersey that used violence to intimidate others and control its territory, prosecutors say.

Members of the Double ii – Queen Street Blood Gang are accused of operating an open-air drug market on the 200-block of North 9th Street in Newark, which was supplied by a production facility at a home in Elizabeth.

According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, the alleged ringleader – Rabiyah Sorey, 43, of Elizabeth – has been charged with multiple crimes, including first-degree racketeering, conspiracy, weapons offenses, assaults and drug offenses.

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Other people charged in the conspiracy acted as supervisors, advisors, distributors and enforcers, prosecutors said (see chart below).

The full list of charges and allegations can be seen below, or viewed online here.

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According to court documents, the operation allegedly employed “9 creepers” (members of Double ii) or associates (members from other gangs) to distribute controlled dangerous substances including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.

The alleged gang members also carried out violence on Sorey’s behalf, including disciplining fellow Double ii members and targeting rivals, prosecutors said.

Among the incidents of alleged violence:

ROAD RAGE – On April 19, 2023, Sorey and co-defendant Nicole Jones, 47, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a Double ii associate, were involved in a road rage incident in the 900 block of Grove Street in Irvington, New Jersey. An argument ensued between Sorey, Jones, and several individuals, which was captured on surveillance camera. The argument ended after two men arrived in a vehicle, and Sorey allegedly ordered them to shoot at two victims, one of whom was struck.

WOMAN SHOT – On July 21, 2023, Newark Police Division officers responded to a shooting around 4th Ave and North 9th Street for a woman (identified as “I.H.”) who sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of the face. The victim was later identified as a known Double ii associate of Sorey. In August 2024, co-defendant Eugene Sparrow, a Double ii member, was arrested for an unrelated shooting on North 9th Street. A cell phone was recovered, and a court-authorized search of the phone revealed a screenshot of a text message between Sorey and I.H., in which they allegedly discussed that I.H. was shot because she owed Sorey the proceeds of CDS distribution.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE – On April 21, 2024, Sorey was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with co-defendant Hadiyah Sorey, on North 9th Street, which was captured via electronic surveillance. Sorey and her sister started fighting in the street; Sorey allegedly obtained a handgun from co-defendant Jasmin Henderson, pointed it at a group of people who were witnessing the fight, and fired the gun into the ground.

VIDEOS – On May 9 and 10, 2024, Double ii members posted a series of videos of Sorey discussing “beef” she had with “K.W.” In the first video, Sorey stood with K.W.’s brother, “K.J.,” appearing to be holding him against his will, and threatening K.W., indicating he was not permitted on Sorey’s territory. Several other videos were posted showing Sorey and unknown individuals at an apartment complex suspected to be where K.W. resided. In the videos, Sorey allegedly told K.W. that she knew where he lived and was coming to get him.

BLOODY SHOOTING – On July 22, 2024, Sorey and Double ii associates/members and co-defendants Jaquan Dozier, Henderson, Inari Hobbs, and Karon Johnson travelled to North 12th Street in Newark. Sorey or her followers allegedly shot “A.C.” three times. Surveillance footage captured A.C. falling to the ground as people ran away, A.C. then crawled down a driveway appearing to be injured. Another camera included audio of the gunshots and then showed A.C. running away with blood pouring down his arm. Ballistics evidence collected from the April 19, 2023, and April 21, 2024, shootings indicated that the same firearm, a black Springfield armory XD 30 sub-compact handgun, was allegedly used by Sorey’s Double ii members/associates to commit the shooting against M.V.R. and P.L. and was allegedly used by Sorey on April 21, 2024, against the individuals present on N. 9th Street and H.S. This weapon was ultimately recovered from Double ii member/associate Inari Hobbs’s car on September 8, 2024, along with an additional firearm and CDS consistent with that sold on the “Newark Set.” Double ii member Jasmin Henderson was also in the car when these weapons were recovered. Between April 19, 2023, and June 22, 2024, Sorey allegedly possessed a black Springfield armory XD 30 sub-compact handgun and a revolver after being previously convicted of several crimes, making it illegal for her to possess weapons.

GUNS – On December 4, 2024, Sorey allegedly contacted Double ii member and co-defendant Latif Holley to order him to move a firearm for the Newark Set to another location. This communication was captured on the wiretap obtained for Holley’s phone. Holley went to the Newark Set and left with a black bag that he took to a U-Haul facility the following day. Upon executing a search warrant at the U-Haul facility, the black bag was recovered and inside was an assault firearm, a 9mm Luger caliber Hi-Point Semi-Automatic Rifle, Model #995, loaded with a 21 round capacity magazine.

DRUGS, CASH SEIZED – On March 24, 2025, detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant at the Elizabeth home of Sorey and Nicole Jones, 47. Sorey was near the residence at the time and was arrested. Jones was inside the residence and was also arrested. Detectives searched the residence and recovered 91 grams of raw heroin; heroin stamps bearing the names “Exit 5,” “Route 21,” “Body Bag,” and “Passion,” which were consistent with stamps allegedly linked to Sorey’s enterprise. Police also seized approximately $17,000 in cash, as well as empty glassine wax folds, tape, rubber bands, digital scales and items used in CDS packaging, prosecutors said.

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