Atlantic city also used to have some gangs called the abdullahs and their rivals were the hanifs or khans or something.It seems that a lot of the black muslim identity in gangs is prevalent around the philadelphia and new jersey area.
Cops Bust Drug Gang In A.c. Terrorized Housing Project
by Nicole Weisensee, Daily News Staff Writer
POSTED: February 17, 1995
ATLANTIC CITY — They drove to New York, purchased heroin and then returned to a public housing project here to terrorize residents while peddling their deadly product.
But yesterday, the operation was closed down by more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers who rounded up 18 of 21 alleged members of the gang called "The Abdullahs" in early-morning raids. Three suspects remained at large.
"This is a big day in the fight against crime in Atlantic City," said U.S. Attorney Faith Hochberg.
The Abdullahs also got into turf wars with rival drug gangs that sometimes ended in gunfire in which innocent people were injured, federal authorities said.
The gang sold most of its heroin and cocaine at the Shore Park housing project.
Chris Fontaine, 23, who used to live in the project and whose mother still resides there, reacted strongly to the arrests.
"They deserve it, all the trouble they start, all the shooting and the drugs," he said. "You name it. They did it. It's about time they cleaned it up."
Robert "Hanif Abdullah" Simpson, also known as "Komrade Chairman," the alleged leader of the gang, was arrested at the home of his girlfriend, Yahanne Cooper, who lives on Lindbergh Boulevard near 77th Street, Philadelphia.
She was charged with harboring a fugitive, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Frey.
Simpson allegedly fled from Atlantic City after trying to kill Karlton Cochran, an associate of the "Pittney Village" gang, on Dec. 29.
Simpson also was involved in the shooting of another rival gang member in March, 1991, and had a violent encounter with "Pitney Village" group members at The Mirage, an Atlantic City nightclub, in November 1994, authorities said.
The 44-count indictment depicts gang activity that included drug sales, gun-slinging, shootings and hired "mercenaries" who backed up threats of violence against drug-selling rivals. It also charges Simpson with attempted murder and threatening a witness.
Drug competition grew so stiff that the gang offered consumers ''specials," which consisted of free cocaine with a heroin purchase, authorities said.
"These are bad guys," said Atlantic City Mayor James Whelan. "These are not guys who are on the margin . . . The good guys won today."
Federal authorities declined to say how much the gang was taking in. They did say they confiscated about $20,000 in yesterday's raids.
"The Abdullahs gang has been a very violent organization," said Barry
Mawn, an FBI special agent in New Jersey.
"Since about October of 1994 they have been involved in at least a dozen shootings in which 11 people were seriously injured. At least half were innocent bystanders," he said.
Reaction to the drug raid at the Shore Park housing project yesterday was mixed.
Some residents denied that The Abdullahs are an organized gang. Others said drugs are such a pervasive problem in the project that one raid won't make any difference.
Two guys commented on the drug problem as they sold what looked to be marijuana. They then proceeded to smoke a marijuana cigarette that they passed back and forth.
One woman who lives in the project who didn't want to be identified said she is skeptical that the raid will have any long-term effects on the drug problem.
"The drugs will be back on the street tonight," she said. "It's sad but true."
