Suspected Evansville Drug Ring Taken Out

The streets of Evansville are little safer this evening. Federal agents with the help of local law enforcement arrested more than 20 suspected drug dealers, but their ties reach much further than just here in the tri-state. They indicted 26 of the suspects Tuesday. Today they went after them. Its part of a lengthy investigation. During which agents say they seized at least 200 thousand dollars worth of cocaine. This morning they put 23 of the 26 men they say were dealing those drugs behind bars. Federal agents took to Evansvilles streets today, trying to clean up the drugs. "A lot of these people are very dangerous." But these werent your everday arrests. The DEA and FBI with help from the police and the sheriffs department handed out 26 arrest warrants for some of Evansvilles most notorious suspected drug dealers. "Cash, weapons and crack cocaine were seized form the various locations," says assistant U.S. Attorney Matthais Onderak. It took 8 months of investigation to pinpoint the men and their activity. Evansvilles southside is where most of the arrests happened. They were targeting two groups of men. One, the special agents say, is affiliated with the Black Soul street gang based on the west side of Chicago. The second group officers say has a violent reputation in Evansville. "Whats significant about today the whole 2 organizations were completely dismantled," says Dennis Wichern with the DEA. Theyre optimistic the groups will stay that way for months to come. They are still looking for these three men Sam Cook, Maurice Nicholson and Jerome Starks. Cook is an alleged member of that street gang out of chicago. As for the 23 men in custody, officials say they made initial court apperances today. Because this is a federal case the minimum sentence is ten years. They say 12 of the men face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.