Blood Red October

Red is a vibrant color. No wonder it has been the main color on so many flags and the symbol for so many countries. The color red in China at one point in time was only to be worn by the royalty – what a way to set oneself apart! Of course, “Red China” became the name used here for Communist China. In other areas, so-called power ties are red and a number of stores such as Target use it abundantly.

A few years back there was a famous film called “The Hunt for Red October” which was about hunting for a particular foreign submarine. The name has stuck somewhat with some stores using it to refer to slashed sales and prices, and some have just changed it a little and called it Blue October if that fit their product better.

Red is, of course, the color of blood as well. And it’s not a good sign that a particular drug gang calls itself the Bloods. They are known for being very violent in their interactions.

The good news for this October 2011 is that eleven members of a Newark gang that is connected to the Bloods gang have been indicted on charges which include including conspiracy, money laundering and drug offenses. Thirty more defendants are awaiting their indictments. An 18 month investigation known as “Operation Red Storm” was led by the state Division of Criminal Justice, with assistance from the Boonton Police Department, Newark Police Department, New Jersey Department of Corrections and New Jersey State Police. During that time, they seized more than 250 bricks of heroin, over a kilogram of cocaine, more than $60,000 in cash, four semi-automatic handguns and an assault rifle.

Attorney General Paula Dow stated, "Whenever we take down significant narcotics networks such as this one, our goal is not only to rid the affected neighborhoods of dangerous drugs, but also to eliminate the secondary crimes and violence associated with these illicit enterprises.” This was a good result, wouldn’t you say?

With those drugs and weapons off of the street, perhaps this red storm will keep some of the neighborhood’s red blood from flowing.