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Gang Members Implicated in Interstate Drug Trafficking Ring
One suspect
from Compton still on the loose
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin
Staff Writer
Members
of two Compton-area gangs have been implicated in a suspected drug
ring stretching across the nation.
Police and federal agents last Tuesday arrested in Eugene, Ore.,
and Portland, Ore., 10 people linked to the illegal operation. They also
arrested Eric Dushon Lewis, 38, of Compton, in Palmdale.
The FBI said the arrests came three weeks after a federal grand jury
issued a sealed indictment of four women and nine men in connection with
the ring.
During the first phase of Operation Crimson Vex, authorities said
they uncovered a complex drug ring that allegedly ran cocaine, heroin and
PCP from South Los Angeles to St. Louis, Mo., and Atlanta, Ga., according
to federal indictments.
Allegedly involved in the ring are members from two local Bloods
sets, one hailing from Campanella Park, which is located in a county unincorporated
area just outside of Compton, and the other from Compton proper.
That bust led the to the discovery of the Oregon operation, where
suspects would allegedly buy cocaine in Compton, take it to Portland to
sell and then return to Compton with marijuana.
Kenyan Terrance Payne, 39, of Compton, is being charged in both cases,
according to authorities.
As of press time, Payne was still at large and considered a fugitive.
FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents said they seized six
kilograms of cocaine, 1/4 kilogram of crack cocaine, 80 pounds of
marijuana, gram quantities of methamphetamine, $860,000 cash and eight
guns during
the raid. More than $1 million in assets have been seized to date.
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