Nathanial Ortiz attempted murder charges

In a raid Wednesday, officers arrested 12 members of the alleged trafficking ring and charged 18 with crimes stemming from the operation, police said. The group's alleged ringleader, Nathanial Ortiz, was already in police custody on unrelated attempted murder charges when the arrests were made.The gang operated out of a building at 1269 Grand Concourse, where police say members intimidated residents into tolerating their drug-and-gun market. The group set up a lookout system to avoid detection by the police, rushing into apartments to hide if officers were spotted nearby.Police officials say the takedown came after a yearlong investigation, in which confidential sources purchased nearly 1,000 small bags of crack cocaine and dozens of illegal firearms as the police and FBI built a case against the alleged traffickers.

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