A criminal ring known as the “fentanyl robbery gang” has been accused by federal prosecutors of orchestrating a string of robberies that resulted in four deaths. The gang, which operated from New Hampshire to Virginia, utilized dating websites to connect with individuals seeking prostitutes as part of their illegal activities, according to Gerard Karam, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The gang members and their associates would arrange meetings with victims under the guise of providing drugs, but would ultimately rob them of various valuables including guns, cash, and identification documents.
The victims were often offered purported cocaine laced with fentanyl without their knowledge. In cases where victims declined the drugs, gang members and associates would forcibly administer or surreptitiously introduce it into their systems to render them incapacitated and make it easier to steal from them.
In instances where victims were not promptly incapacitated, the gang resorted to home-invasion robberies, gaining entry into victims’ homes through other members or associates to carry out violent theft at gunpoint, through threats, or physical assault.
The criminal group has been tied to four deaths, including three in Pennsylvania (Berks and Luzerne counties) and one in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Prosecutors suspect there may be additional victims yet to be identified.
Seven individuals associated with the gang have been indicted on multiple charges such as kidnapping, aggravated identity theft, drug distribution conspiracy, fentanyl distribution resulting in death and serious bodily harm, and weapons violations. Some of the group members had affiliations with gangs in New York City, as per Karam.
The investigation into the gang involved collaboration between various law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, including state, county, and local authorities, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
