LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, along with state and federal investigators, have arrested 22 individuals so far, in what the office is calling Operation Gang Shield. The 22 individuals are associated with the street gang known as “Sex, Money, Murder” which is a branch of the United Blood Nation founded in New York in the 1980’s.
United Blood Nation is also known as the East Coast Bloods. It is the East coast faction of the California-based Bloods street gang. The Sex, Money, Murder gang is a faction of the Bloods and was formed in the Soundview Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development. The SMM gang claims its territory to be the East coast and southern states of the United States. The gang is known for its hierarchical structure and involvement in violent crime, narcotics offenses and organized criminal conspiracies across multiple states.
The ongoing investigation began in May of this year, when investigators from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office dove deep inside the criminal activities of SMM, which include violent crime, narcotics offenses and organized criminal conspiracies. According to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, SMM gang members focus on recruiting new gang members as well as maintaining their current gang membership. The Alabama Criminal Enterprises Prevention Act makes it a crime to compel someone to join a street gang…