By Colin Young, News Staff
The Boston Police Department (BPD) and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced yesterday the arrests and indictments of 18 alleged drug dealers as part of an investigation dubbed Operation Tanglewood. The investigation focused on cocaine and heroin distribution around the Lenox Street Housing Development at 136 Lenox St. in the South End. All 18 alleged dealers were indicted Monday.
Undercover officers used pre-marked money to purchase cocaine and heroin from dealers identified by the Boston Police Drug Control Unit and Suffolk County DA’s Gang Unit. The suspects allegedly sold the drugs in exchange for cash or goods they thought were stolen.
BPD Commissioner Ed Davis said the investigation was launched to help prevent the violence that is frequently linked to drug distribution in the area.
“This should serve as a clear message to any individuals engaging in violent activity in our communities,” he said in the department’s announcement. “We will continue our relentless efforts to hold violent perpetrators accountable. We will not allow these individuals to destroy quality of life for hard-working, law-abiding community members.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said the residents of the Lenox Street development reached out to law enforcement for help ridding their neighborhood of rampant criminal activities.
“The density of drug retailers in this area forced residents to walk a gauntlet every time they left for school, came home from work or went out to the store,” Conley said in the announcement. “They brought us their concerns, we acted, and the result is safer streets, homes and parks for families and businesses.”
Ages of the arrested range from 20-years-old to 55-years-old. In addition to the 18 suspects indicted, an additional 13 suspects were charged in Boston Municipal Court with various drug-related violations allegedly committed during the operation. The 18 indicted suspects were scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk County Superior Court late yesterday.
Although none of the undercover transactions took place on campus, Northeastern had three serious heroin-related incidents in the past eight months.
An unidentified 30-year-old man was found unresponsive and pronounced dead February 9 in the Renaissance parking garage at 835 Columbus Ave. and just two days later, a 28-year-old Northeastern alumnus was found unresponsive and pronounced dead of an apparent heroin overdose in a Shillman Hall second floor bathroom. In November 2010, BPD officers arrested one man and summonsed a second after they were seen purchasing heroin on Cunard Street and were found allegedly attempting to inject the drug in a bathroom in 716 Columbus Ave., the same building that houses the Northeastern University Division of Public Safety office.
According to BPD, at least three of the Operation Tanglewood transactions were made at 18 Trotter Ct., where Tommy Speed was murdered by Garrett ‘G-Whiz’ Jackson in 2009 in a dispute over drug territory. Jackson is currently serving life without the possibility of parole for the crime.
