Operation Mad Hatter Leads to Multiple Arrests in Pine Bluff
LITTLE ROCK—Twelve defendants are in custody after a DEA operation led to several arrests this morning as part of a federal drug investigation. Operation Mad Hatter has resulted in the identification of multiple drug traffickers and the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, and heroin.
Operation Mad Hatter, run by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, is an ongoing DEA Domestic Cartel Initiative investigation. Today’s arrests follow the unsealing of indictments of 13 individuals who were charged by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2020. Of those, eight were taken into custody this morning, three were already in police custody, and one has made arrangements to turn herself in.
The investigation was initiated in June 2018 to target violent drug trafficking organizations operating in central Arkansas and, in particular, Pine Bluff. The investigation revealed that the Stuttgart Police Department was responding to drug and violence caused by a local gang organization called Porter Block Mafia, or PBM. Detectives reported this particular organization was responsible for several shootings and other violent crimes in Stuttgart. The organization was also known for selling crack cocaine, marijuana and illegally-obtained pills. Stuttgart police reported there have been several drug robberies in their city suspected to be carried out by the PBM organization.
The Pine Bluff Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office advised investigators that the main violent gang organization in their community is known as Murder Gang and Murder MOB, or MOB. Local investigators advised that these violent organizations were responsible for three to four shootings a night in their community as well as several murders. Both agencies advised that the killings were related to narcotics and gang rivalries. Additionally, over 120 firearms had been stolen from a pawn shop in Pine Bluff, and police advised that they suspected MOB has been using these stolen weapons to commit crimes in their community.
In response to the drug and gun violence in Pine Bluff and Stuttgart, DEA launched Operation Mad Hatter in 2019. In February 2019, DEA made the first arrests related to the operation, and in August 2019, additional arrests resulted from activity uncovered during the ongoing investigation. Today’s arrests mark the third phase of the operation, which has resulted in a total of 43 arrests to date.
On March 3, 2020, the grand jury for the Eastern District of Arkansas returned an indictment charging Kendrick Thorn and 11 codefendants in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, as well as firearms offenses. Thorn and three codefendants are charged with enhanced penalties based on prior convictions for drug trafficking and crimes of violence. Four additional defendants are indicted with drug trafficking and firearm offenses in separate indictments.
During the course of Operation Mad Hatter, investigators have seized 29 kilograms of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), 1.5 kilograms of heroin, 82 grams of fentanyl, over 200 diverted prescription pills, more than $107,000 in assets, and seven firearms. During today’s arrests, officers recovered an additional 600 grams of methamphetamine, approximately one pound of marijuana, three firearms, and approximately $6,000 in U.S. currency.
Operation Mad Hatter is a joint investigation with participation from the DEA Little Rock District Office; FBI; United States Postal Inspection Service; United States Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives; Arkansas State Police; Pine Bluff Police Department and the Narcotics Unit; Little Rock Police Department; North Little Rock Police Department; Benton Police Department; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office; Saline County Sheriff’s Office; Central Arkansas Drug Task Force; and Arkansas Community Corrections.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edar/pr/operation-mad-hatter-leads-multiple-arrests-pine-bluff