By Howard Koplowitz
Most of the 42 defendants were from Far Rockaway and 14 of them are alleged to be members of either the Bloods or GIB gangs, according to the DA. GIB is an acronym that stands for Get It In Bricks. The gang has been operating since 2005, Brown said. The undercover operation in and around the Hammels Houses began in October after meetings between residents of the complex, the Queens DA's office and the Police Department, Brown said.”These arrests clearly underscore law enforcement's collective commitment to ridding the streets of illegal drug gang activity and the violence that surrounds it,” Brown said, noting that the bust has “struck a significant blow to the gang known as GIB.”Using strict and violent discipline, they successfully ruled the crack cocaine trade in the Hammels Houses.” Brown said. “Attempts by rival drug dealers to operate within their territory were often met with brutality and gunfire, endangering residents and visitors alike.”Officers made 147 drug deals Ð ranging from crack cocaine to heroin to marijuana Ð in the sting, Brown said. It involved the Queens DA's office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.”The result of this joint investigation should bring welcome relief to the many residents of the Hammels Houses and adjoining communities of Rockaway, who have been plagued by illegal drug trafficking in the lobbies and surrounding streets of their homes,” Brown said. A DA spokesman said there was no ringleader among the 42 defendants, whom he described as a “loosely knit group of people.”A substantial portion of the drug deals were made close to private and public schools, according to the DA, including St. Rose of Lima on Beach 84th Street, Christian Academy on Beach 86th Street and Hammels Child Care Center on Rockaway Boulevard. The child care center is adjacent to the Hammels Houses. Sixteen defendants were charged with selling drugs within a drug-free school zone Ð a count that could land them nine years in prison if they are convicted, the DA said.Drug buys also went down inside the lobbies of the Hammels Houses and in the open, Brown said.Search warrants executed as a result of the investigation found two semi-automatic guns, ammunition, a bullet proof vest, crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, the DA said.Some of the defendants are still at large, according to Brown.Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
