Last updated : December 23, 2024
A heroin drug ring with ties to gangs has been brought down after an indictment by a federal grand jury in Cleveland.
The operation included 31 individuals, 28 of which have already been arrested.
The ring’s leader was 33 year-old Mark Makupson, who lives in the Cleveland area. Gardner Witt, a leader of the Black Disciples gang and a kingpin in the Chicago area drug trade, was also indicted. Members of the Hough Heights Boys and the Hough Harlem Boys were also arrested for their connections to the ring.
All of the indicted individuals are suspected of having contributed to the heroin epidemic that has gripped the Cleveland and Chicago areas over the last several years. Leaders of the ring are thought to have profited by as much as several hundred thousand dollars during the operation.
Officers from Cuyahoga County worked alongside federal agents for more than a year before bringing charges. They surveilled the group closely, depending upon wired informants and eavesdropping on telephone conversations to help build their case. Even before that, the ring was already under investigation. Informants were able to buy a total of 284 grams of heroin over an almost four year period.
With the investigation yielding plenty of evidence, authorities were ready to swear out arrest warrants. In a series of early morning raids, law enforcement officials entered several residences owned by associates of the heroin ring. Approximately $750,000 in cash was seized, as were several vehicles that officials believe were purchased with proceeds from drug deals. Several grams of heroin and cocaine were also appropriated during the raids.
Officials say that the bust is one of the most significant to date in the war on drugs. The well supplied ring was receiving regular shipments from Mexico. Members of the ring were charged as couriers who were making drug deliveries to Cleveland and Chicago. A business located on Superior Avenue, the Advanced Auto and Towing Shop, is known to have been a regular drug distribution center for the ring. Similarly, the leaders had purchased an apartment building on East 74th Street with profits from drug sales. They remodeled the building and used it regularly for conducting business.
Authorities believe that the streets in Cleveland and Chicago are much safer now that this ring is out of operation. It is an important step toward breaking the grip that heroin addiction has on America’s cities.
