Members of a violent white supremacist prison gang that ordered hits on rivals and dealt meth were arrested in Oklahoma on a host of charges including, murder, racketeering, drug conspiracy and kidnapping.
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“They are certainly one of the most fearsome (prison gangs). They’re aggressive and they’re violent,” U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said at a press conference in Tulsa. “They are absolutely one of the most threatening and one of the most dangerous (gangs).”
The 18 gang members arrested were part of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB) which was considered “a violent whites only” gang based primarily in Oklahoma state prisons,” The NY Daily News reports.
According to the indictment, UAB members ran their criminal enterprise by using smuggled cellphones.
The group which was formed inside the Oklahoma Department of Corrections system in the early 1990s, was also reportedly responsible for at least six homicides in the past 14 years, according to the prosecuting documents.
“I don’t know how they got here to Oklahoma, but the UAB has patterned itself based upon the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang from California,” lead prosecutor assistant U.S. Attorney General Dennis Fries said.
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At the arraignment, at least four gang members pleaded not guilty.