Eight indicted in Minneapolis heroin ring bust

Eight people were indicted as suspected members of an elaborate drug ring that used electronic devices to peddle heroin to buyers from all over the Twin Cities metro area, authorities said.

According to a federal indictment released Monday, a $1.6 million annual drug collective, calling itself "The Crew," set up shop in several Minneapolis neighborhoods over the past few years.

Authorities arrested the alleged ringleader, Richard Lee English, 37, of Chicago, and Dion Terrance Fisher during an early-morning traffic stop last Tuesday in downtown Minneapolis, according to court documents.

Informants told investigators that members of the ring drove twice a month to Chicago to pick up between 300 and 400 grams of heroin, smuggled in from Mexico, and took it to the Twin Cities — stashed in hidden compartments of vehicles, the documents say.

Also among those charged were: Milton "Meech" Eugene Ingram, 22, of Chicago; Johnny Martell Brown, 22, whose hometown was not given; Lee "Lee Ball" Antoine Howell, 32, of Minneapolis; Shanequa Amerson, 20, of Minneapolis; Orlando Donee Pryor, 21, of Chicago; Russell "Rello" Anthony Greyer, 26, of Minneapolis; and Fisher, 31, of Chicago.

The indictments, announced at a news conference Monday represent the latest effort of Operation Exile, an effort by the Southwest Hennepin Drug Task Force. This task force recently helped dismantle another distribution ring, and authorities say the unified effort represents a seismic shift in the way high-level drug investigations are conducted.

Minneapolis police Chief Janeé Harteau said her department has increasingly worked with state and local law enforcement agencies to combat heroin use, which led to 33 Hennepin County deaths in 2013, more than double from the year before. The department made 255 heroin-related arrests last year, she said.

U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said that the recent arrests dealt a serious blow to the drug-smuggling network operating from Chicago to the Twin Cities, much of which is believed to be linked to the Mexican drug cartels.

"If you're a Chicago heroin supplier, don't sell your poison here in Minnesota," he said.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that another suspected drug dealer with alleged ties to the drug ring, Devon "Church" McFerrin, is currently on trial for third-degree murder for selling heroin to a man who later died of an overdose. McFerrin's trial is scheduled to begin in November.

Dan Moren, assistant ­special agent in charge of the DEA's Twin Cities office, said that heroin use has skyrocketed recently as prescription drug addicts have started going after cheaper, stronger alternatives. The Mexican drug cartels — which account for 80 to 85 percent of the heroin trade in the Midwest — have realized this and are trying to cash in, he said.

"Through the arrest of these individuals, we've eliminated almost $1.6 million in annual drug proceeds being garnered by the very organizations that are peddling these drugs and that's primarily the Mexican drug cartels," Moren said.

Buyers would call up a "dispatch" number, which would instruct them to go to a particular location at a particular time to pick up their drugs, which were typically sold out of a house near 26th and Oliver Avenues N.