Fourteen Wilmington members of the 9 Trey Gangstas gang have been prosecuted and sentenced on drug and violent crime charges as part of a multi-year sting known as Operation Dodgeball.

U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. announced the prosecutions Friday through a multi-agency partnership at a press conference. He was joined by Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous and District Attorney Ben David.

Operation Dodgeball, which is part of the statewide Take Back North Carolina drug trafficking initiative, began in May 2018 and specifically sought to locate and prosecute members of the local 9 Trey Gangstas in the North Fifth Avenue area.

Higdon said after the arrest and prosecution of the previous leader of the gang, Garry Hines stepped up to take over. Twenty-six-year-ol Hines was the final person sentenced in December. He received the heaviest sentence, of 276 months.

In all, investigators seized 11 firearms, about $10,000 and several thousand bags of either heroin or a heroin/fentanyl mixture, the latter of which, if not properly advertised to buyers, could lead to overdoses, according to Timothy Severo, Assistant U.S. District Attorney.

Firearms seized have since been submitted for ballistics testing, which found several were used in local shootings and other ongoing investigations.