18 indicted on drug trafficking charges

CAMPBELL — The roundup of alleged crack dealers loosely associated with the street gang Soup City Boyz got under way today.

A 35-count secret indictment unsealed today lists16 men and two women, all accused of trafficking in crack cocaine at the Kirwan Homes housing project. Five of the defendants were already in custody on unrelated charges.

Members of the FBI/Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, Youngstown Police Department Vice Squad and the newly formed Crime Suppression Unit were out making the arrests. The CSU is comprised of Youngstown police, Mahoning County sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents.

Lt. Robin Lees, commander of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, said undercover drug buys were made at the Kirwan Homes. The indictment is the result of an investigation that began in November 2006 and ended in December 2007.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com