'Bully Gang' Used Guards To Get K2-Soaked Comics In Rikers: Feds

BROOKLYN, NY — A current and former New York City corrections officer are among the latest associates arrested from an elaborate Brooklyn-based drug ring that spanned four states and included smuggling narcotics into Rikers Island.

Federal officials unveiled a third round of arrests Thursday in their takedown of the Bully Gang, a street gang that trafficked crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl across the east coast.

The gang, first busted last summer, has been connected to a string of armed robberies in Manhattan and an attempted murder in Brooklyn during its years-long reign, according to prosecutors.

“For years, members and associates of the Bully Gang have committed brutal and wanton acts of violence while spreading the poison of dangerous and illicit drugs throughout communities and even correctional institutions,” Acting United States Attorney Seth DuCharme said.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners, today’s charges mark significant progress towards permanently neutralizing the Bully Gang and dismantling its destructive drug-trafficking network.”

Among the newly-unsealed arrests are Johnny Chiles, who works as an officer with the Department of Corrections, and Darius Murphy, a former corrections officer.

Murphy and Chiles accepted bribes from gang members in exchange for delivering papers soaked in the synthetic cannabinoid known as “K2"to inmates who were selling the drugs in Rikers Island, according to the indictment.

The Bully Gang used comic books and court papers soaked with the drugs to get them into the jail, according to previous court documents.

Another one of the new arrests is Bully Gang founder Moeleek Harrell's longtime romantic partner, Nehemie Eril. Prosecutors said Eril coordinated deliveries of the K2-soaked papers and personally delivered cash to pay for the drugs or bribe the corrections officers.

"While Harrell was the leader of the conspiracy, he was incarcerated and therefore relied heavily on Eril to direct others and control the profits from their drug trafficking operation," they wrote.

The Bully Gang also had a drug network set up between New York and Maine, where they had "trap" houses to store narcotics.

Law enforcement found more than $380,000 in cash, more than 15 firearms, six kilograms of cocaine, 600 grams of fentanyl, multiple luxury watches and four vehicles with concealed “trap” compartments installed during their takedown of the gang, according to prosecutors.

Among the new arrests is two Brooklyn men who were involved in the Maine drug network, Ronald "Ronno" Davis and Robert Holt, who also went by “Ricky” or “Ghost.”

Davis made a trip to one of the Maine trap houses as recently as May 2020, according the documents.

Investigators said Holt's involvement extended beyond trafficking, including a time where he sent a video of previously-arrested member Derrick Ayers torturing a woman with a Taser-like device, according to the documents.

"After Ayers began to electrocute [the woman], [the woman] screamed in pain, and repeatedly yelled, 'please don’t,' 'stop,' and 'sorry,' as Ayers continued to electrocute her," the documents read. "Ayers was encouraged by someone off-camera, who could be heard saying, 'That wasn’t enough. That wasn’t enough.'"

Six of the newly-arrested associates will face a judge Thursday afternoon, while the rest will be arraigned at a later date, the prosecutors said.