30 member of a western Pennsylvania motorcycle gang are behind bars, charged with drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession.
The suspects are residents of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Erie, and Washington Counties.
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady says those accused are members or associates of the Pagan Motorcycle Club.
Brady says it’s the “most significant motorcycle gang” prosecution since the mid-1980s.
“For decades, the Pagans have used violence to control cocaine, heroin and meth trafficking throughout western Pennsylvania: that stops now,” said U.S. Attorney Brady in a release. “With the arrests of thirty members and associates of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, including higher-ranking members, we have disrupted their criminal organization and made western Pennsylvania safer.”
“The members and associates of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club facing charges today had a complete disregard for the law and the safety of the communities they operate in,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “Through joint, collaborative investigations and robust partnerships, we will continue to target the leadership of these organizations and bring them to justice for the harm caused by their criminal actions.”
The threatening group is estimated to have around 1,500 members nationwide and is the fourth largest in the country
Nearly $28,000 dollars were also confiscated in the arrests.
All 30 people indicted are now in federal custody.
Members of the group have been known to frequent after-hours and other bars on the South Side and other locations around the area.