Tyrone Brown, Heroin Trafficking, NJ 2024

Five men from Newark and Irvington, along with a suspect from South Carolina, were arrested today in a sweeping takedown of a heroin trafficking ring tied to the violent Brick City Brims, a set of the Bloods street gang. Tyrone Brown, 34, Lamarr Burwell, 22, Miles McCloud, 37, Martin Pettiford, 23, of Irvington, New Jersey, Omar Wyche, 29, all of Newark, and Keyeen Scott, 37, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, now face federal charges for their alleged roles in flooding Newark’s streets with heroin.

Brown, Burwell, McCloud, and Pettiford are each charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and one or more counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Brown faces an additional charge of possession with intent to distribute a fentanyl analogue — a deadly synthetic opioid linked to a surge in overdose deaths. Wyche and Scott are each charged with one or more counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin.

The arrests follow a long-term investigation led by the FBI Newark Field Office, using wiretaps, physical and video surveillance, confidential informants, and cooperating witnesses. The probe zeroed in on drug activity centered at the New Community Corporation (NCC) complex, particularly around Hayes Street and 14th Avenue — a zone the gang allegedly called “the desert,” where heroin and crack cocaine were openly sold.

Court documents reveal the organization operated like a criminal enterprise: members pooled narcotics, shared profits and customers, warned each other of police or rival gangs, and raised bail money for arrested associates. The Brick City Brims members didn’t just deal drugs — they enforced their control through violence and retaliated against threats, fueling a cycle of bloodshed in the neighborhood.

“The activities described in the criminal complaints unsealed today describe an active marketplace where heroin and crack cocaine are sold openly on the streets of Newark and surrounding areas,” said U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. “The wiretaps and surveillance provide a glimpse into the violent and dangerous world these defendants have created in one neighborhood.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher called gangs the “mechanism by which drugs are transmitted to the ‘bad seeds’ in our cities,” and praised interagency cooperation. Newark Department of Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose emphasized the city’s commitment to reclaiming the NCC area, vowing to continue targeting those who “blatantly commit crimes and jeopardize the safety and quality of life of our residents.” Five defendants appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark; Scott is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kaymani D. West in Florence, South Carolina.