Newark-based drug bust linked to Bloods gang nets 40

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

Forty people have been charged in an investigation targeting drug dealers in one of Newark’s most violent neighborhoods, authorities announced today.

Police seized drugs, four handguns and an assault rifle during arrests on Wednesday, capping an investigation that began 18 months ago.

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Authorities said the criminal network also operated inside Northern State Prison, where a cook allegedly helped an inmate smuggle drugs and cell phones. But they said its main business was distributing heroin and cocaine in two areas of the city’s South Ward: Fabyan Place and the so-called "Chadwick Corridor," which includes Avon and Chadwick avenues.

In an area dotted by boarded-up homes, crime is rampant and drugs are easy to find, Edward Judge, 58, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years.

"You go to the corner and without checking who you are, they’ll ask, ‘What do you need? What do you need?’" he said. "The killings have slacked lately, but this ain’t the place to be at night."

The goal in taking down "this criminal network is to disrupt its drug trafficking activities and make these neighborhoods safer," Attorney General Paula Dow said. "We have arrested the alleged leaders and numerous other members of a drug network linked to the Bloods, which used guns to control its turf in two particularly violent sections of Newark."

• List of defendants

Essex County authorities view the Bloods as the most powerful of the seven known street gangs in Newark, and pieces of the South Ward are prized territory for their proximity to Route 78, which is used to transport drugs.

"The ward has been a perennial location for drugs and violence, especially around Clinton Avenue and the Chadwick Corridor," said Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. "It’s always been a consistent problem."

Among the 29 people arrested so far in the investigation are the two alleged leaders of the drug network: Ameer Thompson, 28, and Cardeia Harrell, 33, both of Newark.

Thompson, arrested on Wednesday, was charged with leading a drug trafficking network, drug distribution and conspiracy. He previously spent four years in prison for assault, weapons and drug charges.

Police said they arrested Harrell last week while he met for a drug deal with Aaron Watson, 33, of Newark. Harrell brought $10,304 to the meeting, while Watson came with cocaine and heroin hidden in his vehicle, police said.

Harrell and Watson face charges of drug distribution and drug possession with intent to distribute.

The cook at Northern State Prison, Elijah Harris, 35, of Newark, was charged with bribery, official misconduct, conspiracy and providing a cell phone to an inmate. Another Newark prison employee, corrections officer Gale Bishop, 53, was also charged with drug possession with intent to distribute, although she is not accused of attempting to smuggle contraband into the prison.

The investigation comes on the heels of other multi-agency drug cases in the Newark and East Orange area that have netted about 100 suspects total.

By Chris Megerian and Rohan Mascarenhas/The Star-Ledger

Staff writer James Queally contributed to this report...