By: Tracie Carter
Eight individuals have been charged as members and associates of the “793 Bloods” street gang, a subset of the Bloods national gang, for their alleged involvement in a drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to a statement released by federal officials, Mr. Muta Bell, 33, Mr. Ibn Foster, 19, Mr. Xavion Miller, 19, Mr. Corey Wade, 32, Mr. Bazair White, 20, Mr. Yusef Milliron, 28, and Mr. Alshakur Robinson, 29, all of Newark, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.
Mr. Robert Franklin, 29, of Newark, is charged in a separate complaint with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Federal officials said Bell, Foster, White, and Robinson were arrested Wednesday and appeared before U.S. Magistrate José R. Almonte in Newark federal court around noon.
Bell, Foster, and Robinson were detained; White was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Wade and Franklin are currently detained in state custody and will make their appearances at a later date. Miller and Milliron remain at large.
According to the complaints, the defendants are part of a drug trafficking organization that operates an open-air narcotics market in the area of South Orange and Isabella Avenues in Newark.
Law enforcement conducted extensive surveillance of the area for several months and executed numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, revealing extensive drug trafficking interactions between and among the conspiracy members.
During the investigation, Franklin was observed engaging in a suspected narcotics transaction near Isabella Avenue. He was later found in possession of suspected cocaine base and a privately manufactured firearm equipped with a high-capacity magazine loaded with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The conspiracy charge in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $5 million, with a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years.
Franklin faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of at least $250,000 for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon; a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, with a maximum of life in prison, which must run consecutively to any other punishment, and a fine of $250,000 for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
As part of the same investigation, Fakhir Johnson, 20, and Samaj Collins, 20, of Newark, were charged on September 11, 2023. Johnson was charged with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Collins was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.