7/11 — 41 Indicted in Heroin Bust

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FREEHOLD — A Monmouth County grand jury yesterday handed down indictments to 41 alleged members of a criminal street gang who participated in a widespread heroin distribution operation, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The 98-count indictment charges alleged ringleaders Ronald Daniels Jr., 23, Long Branch; Anna Flores, 21, and Christopher Moon, 21, both from Highlands, and the others as being members of the “Fruit Town Brims,” a subset of the Bloods street gang, responsible for distributing heroin throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The indictment includes charges for racketeering conspiracy; gang criminality; possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute; possession of firearms, among others.
Law enforcement conducted an eight-month investigation, coined “Operation Hats Off,” begun in spring 2012, that resulted in the arrests last December. Authorities alleged the group was selling about 200 “bricks” of heroin weekly, with members of the group selling more than 1,000 bags to undercover officers. A brick contains about 50 small bags of the narcotic.
Investigators seized a number of weapons and vehicles and heroin, which has a street value of more than $150,000, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Authorities alleged the group’s main heroin suppliers were Louis Pennington, also known as “Gangsta,” 29, Long Branch; and Hassain Jenkins, 39, Orange. Once received, gang members would sell it to buyers from a number of communities, including Rumson, Red Bank, Little Silver, Sea Bright, Eatontown, Oceanport, West Long Branch and Bayville, according to the complaint.