According to a press release issued Friday by the Department of Justice (DOJ), 18 members or associates of a violent street gang in Selma have been indicted on federal drug and firearm charges.
United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama and DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam announced the indictment, which was just unsealed on Friday and is comprised of 23 counts.
The gang is known as the “MLK Gang,” and includes members of Selma’s DTE gang, as well as individuals associated with the Crips, one of the largest and most violent gangs in America.
“The city of Selma has been plagued too long with a high level of violent crime that we are determined to stop,” Moore outlined. “This indictment is only one part of the strategy of federal, state and local law enforcement to take back the streets of Selma. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to increase our presence in Selma and we are asking the residents of Selma to join us in making their streets safe again.”
Azzam added, “The damage caused by drugs and violence affects everyone across the nation, including towns like Selma, Alabama. Our neighborhoods deserve to exist without fear and intimidation inflicted by violent drug gangs. The arrests of these individuals should be a warning to others who prey on the weak and defenseless through their drug trafficking and violent acts. We will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners, to relentlessly pursue these violent criminals and drug traffickers plaguing our communities.”
The indictment and other federal court proceedings charge that, “The MLK gang, comprised of ‘DTE’ gang members and ‘Crips’ affiliated individuals, concentrated in the processing of cocaine into crack cocaine and its distribution in and around the Martin Luther King Street area of Selma, Alabama. To protect its crack Distribution location, the MLK gang maintained a ready supply of firearms, including handguns, shotguns, and semi-automatic rifles. These weapons were often used by the MLK Gang against rival crack cocaine traffickers.”
Ongoing federal, state, local law enforcement partnership against violent crime results in
indictment of 18 defendants of a Selma-based street gang on narcotics conspiracy and firearm offenses. Great teamwork to take violent offenders off
our streets! https://t.co/7qg9lqHX3J— AG Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) November 9, 2018
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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