ALLEGED DRUG GANG CHARGED IN CAMDEN

Federal officials said 20 people were part of an operation selling
$20,000 worth of cocaine weekly

In November, Rashad Smith told a government informant that he was
wearing himself out selling drugs.

He said he was feeling the pressure to cash in "because if he waits
too long, he expects the feds to come," according to court documents.

Apparently, Smith waited too long.

He and 19 other people who authorities say belong to a South Camden
drug gang called the M.O.B. Boys were charged with drug conspiracy in
a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday in federal court.

Conviction could carry a life sentence.

The M.O.B. Boys sold at least $20,000 worth of cocaine and crack each
week in the 1200 block of Morton Street, where they sometimes
operated 24 hours a day, authorities said.

Prosecutors also implicated Smith, a Gloucester Township resident
identified as one of four leaders of the drug set, in the March 22
shooting death of Anthony "Skip" Brown. Federal authorities said
Brown may have been a supplier for the drug ring and sometimes cooked
cocaine into crack.

Brown was shot three times in the head in the 700 block of Chestnut
Street. Witnesses said they had seen Smith leaving the scene. When
stopped by police, Smith gave a phony name and would not answer
questions about the homicide. He was jailed instead for owing $70,000
in child support. No one has been charged in the homicide.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie called the case "a major dagger in
a large drug-trafficking gang."

He also recalled a promise to use federal resources to fight crime in
Camden. "This is an example where not only the promise was kept, but
exceeded," he said.

Smith, 33, was described as one of the "controlling members" of the
old Hilltop Gang, which was formed in 1989. Authorities said he and
Troy Clark, an alleged fellow leader, branched off to form the M.O.B.
Boys; the abbreviation stands for Middle of the Block.

Clark, 37, was arrested at his Camden home yesterday morning. Smith
was arrested earlier this month after police found more than 13
ounces of crack in his car.

Two other alleged gang leaders - Jermaine Coleman, 33, of Camden, and
Trevor Smith, 34, of Berlin Township - remained fugitives yesterday.

Federal agents penetrated the gang with at least six informants,
including one who they said had made drug runs to a Dominican
wholesaler in New Brunswick, N.J., and returned with the cocaine in a
diaper bag.

The agents investigated the ring for more than two years, running
surveillance around the city, tapping numerous cell phones, and
installing a hidden "pole camera" on Morton Street.

They watched an organization that sold drugs efficiently in shifts,
with leaders evenly dividing the responsibilities.

Several members, including David "Bussie" Lee, had been picked up on
state charges, authorities said. He was packaging crack cocaine in a
Days Inn motel room last month with two women, authorities said. As
they were leaving, a Cherry Hill police officer tried to stop their
car. Lee drove off.

One of the women, Nechelle Hardwick, called Rashad Smith for advice
during the pursuit. Federal agents listened to the call.

"Bussie is taking us on a ride with the... cops," she said, according
to court documents. "They on him... . We got to bail somewhere."

The documents added one final detail:

"It should be noted the police sirens are heard in the background of
the conversation."