source:
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2010/02/43_of_the_46_arrested_in_the_d.html
The Jersey City teenager who was shot in the face by undercover police doing surveillance in a recent gang investigation was among 46 people arrested when a violent drug trafficking network was crushed by state, local and federal law enforcement.
"We've interrupted some very prolific and violent criminal careers with these arrests, and that puts the odds back in favor of the people of the Greenville community," said State Police Col. Rick Fuentes at a news conference yesterday in Jersey City, hours after 26 of the suspects were arrested.
About $80,000 in cash and quantities of cocaine, PCP, marijuana and oxycodone were seized yesterday morning during execution of 18 arrest warrants and 15 search warrants connected to the Operation Wetlands investigation into the Bloods street gang.
Over the course of the six-month operation, 20 other people were arrested and evidence seized included about 32 ounces of PCP, 35 "bricks" of heroin, a small amount of oxycodone, and more than $7,000, officials said.
Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said a total of four handguns were seized in the investigation.
Among those arrested yesterday was Kwadir Felton, 18, who was shot at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 by a Jersey City police officer at Dwight Street and Bergen Avenue, officials said.
Police said at the time that the officer, Sgt. Thomas McVicar, was doing surveillance inside a vehicle when Felton tried to rob him with a loaded 9mm pistol. McVicar opened fire, shooting Felton in the face through the car window.
Dempsey Collins, 29, aka "Da" and "Demps," and David Gilliens, 28, aka "GD" and "Good Dude," both of Jersey City, were arrested yesterday and charged with leading a narcotics trafficking network and drug distribution ring, police said. They face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted, Comey said. Their bails were set at $350,000.
A number of members of the drug network are affiliated with the Sex, Money, Murder set of the Bloods street gang, police said.
Comey said the period during which Collins took over the turf and ran the drug operation was marked by numerous shootings, including one explosion of gunfire that sent a round into a daycare center on Martin Luther King Drive in 2008.
The chief said the drug dealers used several locations to stash drugs and from there they would be moved to distribution areas on the street. He said the outfit was sophisticated and even used countersurveillance measures. Raid locations yesterday morning included a store at 663 Ocean Ave. and a fried chicken restaurant at 514 Ocean.
Comey said the successful investigation "shows our commitment is strong and we are going to keep coming at it, and coming at it, and coming at it.
"We are there for the community we serve. You never know, we may be on to other targets as we speak."
Felton had pleaded guilty to a minor drug charge a few days before he was shot. He was arrested yesterday on the charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs, officials said.
Other organizations involved in Operation Wetlands include the Hudson County Sheriff's Office, Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, the state Division of Criminal Justice and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
At yesterday's news conference at the Jersey City Public Safety Communication Center on Bishop Avenue, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said cooperative effort was able "to bring down this rabble that have caused untold damage here in Jersey City."
Told yah it was HOOOOT
all my people are safe
