20 Alleged Gang Members Arrested in Essex County

Twenty alleged gang members were arrested during five days of raids that were the culmination of a joint investigation including many levels of law enforcement.

Dubbed "Operation Trifecta," the investigation began in August 2008 and was based on intelligence gathered by the Essex County Prosecutor's Gang and Narcotics VIPER unit. Five hundred grams of cocaine, 100 grams of heroin, three vehicles and $50,000 were seized in the raids. The undercover operation focused mainly on targets in Newark, but gang members and associates allegedly involved in the distribution were based in Newark, Irvington, Elizabeth, Orange and South Orange, according to Prosecutor Paula T. Dow.

Those arrested allegedly belong to a subset of the Bloods called "Sex Money Murder" and were mid-level drug dealers -- mostly in their 30s -- whose distribution ring sold hundreds of grams of cocaine and 100 bricks of heroin a week.

"It culminated with the arrest of a series of individuals that we believe are the worst of the worst," said Dow at a press conference at Veterans Courthouse in Newark on Thursday.

Seven of the targets are still at large, and one has a known South Orange address, said Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Paul Loriquet, who declined to give the fugitive's name due to the ongoing investigation.

Along with the Newark, Orange and Maplewood police departments, the South Orange department played a role in the investigation and assigned an undercover officer to work on the case for two months, according to Chief Jim Chelel.

"Everybody has to chip in a little bit," said Chelel, who noted that there's nothing to suggest that any of the ring's distribution took place in South Orange. "They made some nice arrests."