77 Arrested In Probe of Drug Deals In District

Authorities announced yesterday the arrests of 77 people suspected of selling or supplying drugs in the Trinidad section of Northeast Washington.

Eight of the suspects were arrested yesterday, officials said. The others have been apprehended since June in an investigation by D.C. police and federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Police have been focusing on the Trinidad area because of a surge in homicides since spring, including a stretch in which seven people were killed in nine hours. The most recent killing in the neighborhood occurred Saturday in a drive-by on Holbrook Terrace NE.

"There are three things driving violent crime," D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said last night at a news conference in the area. "That's drugs, guns and gang and crew activity."

Lanier said that authorities have "documented presence" of gangs in Trinidad, including the Bloods, a gang associated with the West Coast. She declined to say whether the Bloods have been tied to the drug activities in Trinidad or the violence there. Other investigators have said the Bloods appear to be playing a bigger role in drug sales in the area.

As part of the narcotics investigation, officials said they have seized cocaine, heroin and marijuana worth about $126,000; about $46,000 in cash; 14 guns; and four vehicles. They have executed search warrants at 16 locations, mostly in Trinidad.

In yesterday's sweep, authorities seized about $1,200 worth of crack, three guns and about $3,000 in cash.

The drug investigation is part of a broader law enforcement effort that has included occasional checkpoints since June of motorists driving into the Trinidad area. The checkpoints have generated praise from some neighborhood leaders but also controversy. Some residents filed lawsuit in federal court, saying that the stops are unconstitutional.

Lanier was joined last night by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Shawn Johnson, the special agent who heads the DEA's Washington field office.

Taylor said authorities are gathering evidence and could build a larger federal case. Johnson said the DEA is devoting more resources this year to the District and that Trinidad is a priority.

"We're here indefinitely. We're not going any place," Johnson said.