Drug charge sweep nets 25 arrests for heroin conspiracy

Drug sweeps are usually coordinated efforts between state, federal and local officials to arrest a collection of people who may be operating under an organizational network or a loosely concentric ring of related activities. In New Jersey and the rest of the country, when authorities conduct a drug charge sweep against many individuals, they usually contact the press at the time of the sweep and inform them of their collective dragnet. This gives authorities an ideal platform for showcasing their achievement.

However, it remains to be seen whether a recent raid in Atlantic City that netted 25 arrests will stem the tide of serious drug and related crimes there. It took about 300 law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies to arrest the accused members of a violent Atlantic City street gang called the Dirty Block Crime Fam. Each defendant, including several arrested prior to the sweep, was charged with one count of the drug charge of conspiracy to distribute more than one kilo of heroin.

An Assistant U.S. Attorney staged the obligatory news conference in Camden to announce the sweep and state that the gang was a violent one. It was revealed that the jointly-conducted investigation began late in 2010 due to the gang’s high-profile record of violence. The prosecutor stated that the gang had sold heroin with an estimated street value of at least $1 million.

The Atlantic City Police Chief said that those in the affected neighborhoods will have an improved quality of life. The charge against each defendant carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. However, the proposition that crime would seriously decrease in those neighborhoods is belied by prior experience and statistics.

Furthermore, there is no evidence that drug charge raids in New Jersey and elsewhere result in less drug usage, which means that drug demand remains high. Also, there is a possibility of arresting the wrong person in the confusion of dealing simultaneously with a large number of people and volumes of paperwork. Because of these inherent weaknesses, a person needing a drug crime defense in New Jersey will likely do best by having the guidance of an experienced professional to evaluate whether any significant defenses or other options exist.

Source: policeone.com, “300 feds, police arrest 25 gang members in NJ sweep,” Joseph A. Gambardello, March 29, 2013