Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Earlier today, a total of 12 members and associates of the Bloods street gang located in Queens, New York, including Covel Duncan, a New York State Corrections Officer at Riker’s Island, were arrested on narcotics trafficking charges. The defendants’ initial appearances are scheduled this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James Orenstein at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.¹

The charges and arrests were announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency, New York.

As charged in the criminal complaint, between November 2014 and June 2015, the defendants Kamel Lambus, Stanley Fuller, Covel Duncan, Shavona Trappier, Shakeem Powell, Tyran Trotter, Henry Curry, Sean Brabram, Tiheem Crocker, Scott Williams, Earl Davis, Michael Scott, and Andre Mitchell, and others, conspired to distribute over a kilogram of heroin. Lambus and Fuller are allegedly leaders of a sect of the Bloods gang called the Paper Chasing Goons (PCG) or POV City, and used a network of distributors, some of whom are also members of PCG/POV City, to sell hundreds of glassines of heroin daily to customers throughout Queens and elsewhere. The glassines were marked with labels including “Sweet Dreams,” “First Take,” “Pepsi,” and “Coca Cola.”

The gang had several stash houses used to store narcotics and the proceeds of narcotics sales. This morning, search warrants were executed at three stash houses in Queens located at 119-26 165th Street, 107-53 Watson Place, and Lambus’s residence. Law enforcement agents seized 40 glassines of heroin labeled “Coca Cola” and “Sweet Dreams” and over $5,000 in U.S. currency from Lambus’s residence. Additionally, law enforcement agents seized approximately 500 glassines of heroin bearing the labels “Coca Cola” and “Sweet Dreams” and approximately $7,000 in U.S. currency from the residence where Trappier and Duncan were arrested, and 250 glassines of heroin bearing the label “Coca Cola” from the residence where Mitchell was arrested. During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted numerous telephone communications which revealed that Lambus and Fuller sent samples of heroin to their distributors to test for quality, and supplied the members of their gang, as well as other narcotics traffickers, with heroin on a daily basis.

Acting United States Attorney Currie stated, “Members of street gangs who distribute heroin are on notice that they will be held strictly accountable for their actions. We and our partners in law enforcement are committed to ending the scourge of illegal narcotics in our communities.” Mr. Currie expressed his grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the New York City Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Supervision for their assistance in the investigation.

“Today’s arrests help dismantle a violent gang responsible for flooding the streets of New York with heroin,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Parmer. “Working alongside our law enforcement partners, HSI will continue to use its unique authorities to ensure gangs and their members are brought to justice.”

DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Hunt stated, “These alleged gang members were distributing heroin with brand names such as “Sweet Dreams,” “Pepsi,” and “Coca Cola” – three things that appeal to America’s youth. The CDC reported the heroin death rate has quadrupled in a decade, and today’s collaborative efforts demonstrate law enforcement’s commitment to arresting those responsible for trafficking heroin which ultimately opens the door to increased heroin abuse, addiction, crime, and violence.”

“This investigation is an example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together toward a common objective, which is to protect our communities from individuals who would compromise the safety and well-being of our neighborhoods through the trafficking of illegal narcotics,” said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. “I would like to thank the NYPD Gang Squad Queens and our many law enforcement partners whose work in this investigation resulted in the charges and arrests of these alleged gang members.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid states: "The ATF is grateful to the United States Attorneys Office as well as our law enforcement partners for their assistance and investigative expertise in dismantling what once was allegedly a structured and organized heroin ring. The arrests of these alleged gang members will hopefully create a ripple effect inside their ranks and remind them that when they decide to engage in narcotics trafficking, the full weight of law enforcement will be there at every turn. "

IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen said, “IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our partner law enforcement agencies in the investigation of crimes that directly impact our communities, including narcotics, illegal firearms, and gang activities. We are always ready to apply our expertise to the financial aspects of investigations of criminal organizations.”

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Kenji Price, Lauren Elbert, and Michael Robotti are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

Name: COVEL DUNCAN
Age: 30
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: KAMEL LAMBUS
Age: 32
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: STANLEY FULLER
Age: 40
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: SHAVONA TRAPPIER
Age: 25
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: SHAKEEM POWELL
Age: 26
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: TYRAN TROTTER
Age: 20
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: HENRY CURRY
Age: 26
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: SEAN BRABRAM
Age: 46
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: TIHEEM CROCKER
Age: 40
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: SCOTT WILLIAMS
Age: 30
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: EARL DAVIS
Age: 50
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: MICHAEL SCOTT
Age: 45
Residence: Queens, New York

Name: ANDRE MITCHELL
Age: 28
Residence: Queens, New York

¹ The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.