21 Arrested, Indicted in Wiretap Investigation

Police say an Edgewood street gang is virtually out of commission in the wake of a large-scale wiretap investigation that led to 21 arrests and the confiscation of more than $680,000 in illegal drugs.

Investigators with the Harford County Task Force believe the gang dubbed "World's Most Dangerous," or WMD, may also be connected to other violent crimes such as street robberies, shootings and the murder of a fellow gang member that remains under investigation.

The task force investigation began in late 2011 after patrol officers noticed a pickup in the gang's activity, Lt. Lee Dunbar of the Harford County Sheriff's Office and task force watch commander, said at a press conference Thursday.

After getting enough probable cause for a wiretap, investigators learned illegal drugs were being shipped from Atlanta, GA to Baltimore City and then to the drug dealers in Harford County, Dunbar explained.

Of the 21 people arrested, 15 are charged at the state level and eight are facing federal charges. One of Harford County's most wanted individuals, 20-year-old Isaiah Sibert, was also arrested in connection with the investigation.

"We've pretty much dismantled them at this time," Dunbar said of the WMD drug organization.

In addition to the arrests, police seized more than $100,000 cash, a handgun, two vehicles, 1,060 grams of marijuana, 4,577 grams of cocaine and 2,000 grams of heroin. The estimated, combined street value for the seized drugs is about $680,000, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

Dunbar added that the investigation was one of the most successful the task force has conducted.

"I want to make it known that that's why the task force was formed back in 1988—for cases just like this. Because we can't do it alone. We know that our jurisdictional boundaries are here in Harford County, but we know the drug dealers' boundaries; they don't have any," Dunbar said.

The Harford County Task Force includes members of the sheriff's office, DEA, Maryland State Police, Harford County State's Attorney's Office and Bel Air, Havre de Grace and Aberdeen police departments.