A five-year investigation into a violent Broward County street gang culminated in the arrest of two dozen suspects this week and the seizure of a large amount of drugs, guns and cash, authorities said.
The 24 suspects were arrested Tuesday on racketeering charges, with one of the suspects also charged with premeditated murder.
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At a news conference Thursday, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said the investigation began in 2017 and focused on the Alwoods Gang that primarily operated out of Deerfield Beach.
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"We have not taken the eye off the priority to make sure this community is a safe community where people can live and work without the fear of some type of violent gangs," Tony said.
The gang has been operating since the 1990s but BSO detectives began to notice an uptick in drug overdoses, fentanyl sales and gun violence in that area in 2017, officials said.
Members of the organization are responsible for numerous criminal acts in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, including drive-by shootings, robberies, burglaries and weapons violations, officials said.
"This gang had committed a multitude of different atrocities, from soliciting and working and being involved in shootings and murder attempts, from major trafficking of narcotics that include fentanyl which has been impacting Broward County like no other county in our state," Tony said.
Members of the gang were involved in homicides with rival gangs, and at least three members of the gang are suspected of attempting to plan the murder of a rival gang member, officials said.
During the investigation, three Alwoods Gang members were killed in gun battles with rival gangs, officials said.
Detectives said over the five years of the investigation, about 200 total arrests were made which includes members of other drug trafficking organizations that worked with the Alwoods and other associates and supporters of the gang.
Among the items seized during the investigation were more than 40 kilos of cocaine, more than 20 kilos of heroin and fentanyl and thousands of pills, officials said.
Over $800,000 in cash, over $1 million in gold and jewelry, as well as houses, cars and boats were also seized.
The investigation into the gang is still ongoing.
"These gang members are connected to hundreds of cases—including violent crimes, drug trafficking and at least one fentanyl overdose death," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. "Working with the Broward Sheriff’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies, my Statewide Prosecutors recovered more than $2 million in illicit proceeds, including cash and other assets. We also seized approximately 64 kilos of deadly fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. Now, the suspects in this massive, organized crime round up will have to face justice."
