COPS BUST DRUG GANG FORMED IN STATE JAIL

A vicious gang of drug-dealing Bloods - who forged their union behind state
prison walls - was arrested yesterday by the NYPD following the unsealing
of a sweeping indictment by special narcotics prosecutor Bridget Brennan.

The roundup ended the stranglehold the gang had on a widening circle of
Manhattan streets around Lenox Avenue from 112th Street to 120th Street
where members carried out a reign of intimidation of law- abiding residents
while taking over drug spots to distribute crack, heroin and PCP.

Brennan said the gang, The Nine Trey Gangstas, came up with their name
while locked up in 1993 in upstate Great Meadow Prison.

The leader, or Superior Blood, in charge of the group was Ruben Davis, who
had a sister and brother serving as his top aides, Brennan said.

Chief George Brown, head of the NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau, said
the gang was extremely violent and - in addition to wounding rival gang
members - was responsible for a shooting that seriously injured a child
riding a bike on Fifth Avenue at 118th Street in 1996.

But Brennan said the impact on the neighborhood's quality of life was as
disturbing as the violence. Residents were afraid to complain to the
police, she said.

Brennan said the gang members met in prison and forged alliances to ward
off violence from rival jail gangs such as the Crips. Once members were
released from prison, they took their organization to the streets,
recruiting more members to empower the gang and expand its drug rackets.