“Bro, by June I’ll be making 10,000 a month”: The conversations of the gang recruiting minors

The dialogues between minors and young members of two criminal drug trafficking organizations, dismantled by the Rapid Intervention Narcotics Unit of Attica Security, are particularly telling. These groups were active in distributing drugs to minors in the Northern Suburbs.

The two organizations “recruited” minors as “runners” to distribute drugs to other minors.

Illustrative of the goals of the 19-year-old leader of the second organization is the following conversation with a “recruited” minor runner:

19-year-old Leader of 2nd Organization: Listen bro, I’m in ‘low king mode’ right now. I’m telling you, I need two weeks max and I’ll be at the prime. And then I want to set up 10 deals by June so I can make 10 grand a month, you know, I’ll f… him, then I swear I’ll give you money and you’ll get the fifties. I’ll be giving them to you as gifts, you’ll see, bro. You’ll see I’ll make a comeback as the “boss.”

15-year-old (runner): I hope so.

19-year-old Leader of 2nd Organization: You’ll see, hold on.

15-year-old (runner): Cool, bro.

Equally indicative is how the leader of the first organization dazzled the minors in his group by flaunting his wealth and the BMW sports car he owned, as seen in a conversation of the organization’s deputy responsible for the minor runners:

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Listen, here’s what’s happening. We’re going there with G… to get and bro, A… (19-year-old Deputy) is coming, okay? We get into the i8.

Unknown: Into the i8?

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Yeah, step on it, bro, seriously, I’m telling you.

Unknown: Yeah, I can imagine, you know what top speed this goes to, bro?

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Bro, I’m telling you, we went full throttle, we were freaking out.

Unknown: This tops at 250, no kidding?

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Bro, you know the doors opened up?

Unknown: Yeah bro, I’ve been in an i8, I’ve posted photos with it.

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Yeah bro, so we go in, anyway, blah blah blah. We go to some back alleys in the middle of nowhere and there’s a BMW parked there (the car stash for the drugs).

Unknown: Yeah.

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: And he tells G… go get it. G… says, nothing’s there. Inside the BMW’s trunk, bro. And bro, he opens the trunk and there are 10 bags, brother.

Unknown: What was in them?

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: 10 bags. Bro, there were a lot. And bro, he takes one from there, takes the hundred, and takes two. He took two bags to see which we prefer, you get me.

Unknown: Mmm.

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: And man… this is the ‘Cherry’ which you didn’t like, the ‘Fake Cherry’ (meth), bro.

In another conversation, the deputy responsible for monitoring the minors began to fear a situation where a parent might find out:

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Yeah I deal with the minors, bro, I deal with the minors.

Unknown: First, take some small ones, and second, bro, if you want small stuff and things, signal, bro.

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Yeah f… them.

Unknown: And one last thing from me, A…, f… them with the stick and beat them as much as you can to scare them.

17-year-old Deputy of 1st Organization: Now it’s going to be a tough time for the minors.