SAVANNAH, Ga. — Dozens of Georgia gang members have been arrested and indicted in a RICO case involving instances of murder, drug trafficking and more.
The FBI says they participated in a round-up of 30 members and associates of the Sex Money Murder gang on Thursday.
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According to prosecutors, those indicted participated in “extreme violence” against fellow members believed to have broken gang rules. They say a 19-year-old was killed for trying to leave the gang and another was stabbed several times for alleged homosexual activities in jail.
Court documents say that in 2020, Byron Hopkins and other gang members drove a fellow gang member to a rural neighborhood and shot him to death. The victim said he wanted to leave the gang after accusing Hopkins of getting a minor pregnant.
To lure the victim in, his “big brother” in the gang told him there was an important meeting that he needed to attend. He was unaware he was being driven to his execution, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors say they also trafficked large amounts of meth, cocaine and heroine.
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A fraud scheme targeting COVID-19 relief and unemployment benefits also earned gang members more than $850,000, prosecutors said.
The names of those indicted have not been released.
If convicted, they could face up to life in prison, depending on their charges.
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