A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico has charged 81 alleged members of Los Baja Deo (LBD) with drug trafficking and, in some cases, firearms crimes after a multiyear investigation of the group’s operations on the island’s west side.
The Aug. 19 indictment accuses the Mayagüez-based organization of distributing heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base (crack), cocaine, and marijuana since 2021. Twenty-one of the defendants are also charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
The FBI and Puerto Rico Police Department arrested 70 of the 81 defendants Wednesday. Prosecutors say LBD ran drug points in and around public housing projects and neighborhoods across Mayagüez, including Sábalo Gardens, Cuesta Las Piedras, Yagüez, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Columbus Landing, Jardines de Concordia, Monte Isleño, and Mar y Sol, as well as nearby wards and sectors. …