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Last updated on Thursday, July 12, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday named 42 members of a motorcycle club with locations across the county, after federal agents raided the club’s Indianapolis and Fort Wayne locations Wednesday morning.
Sources say raids of the Outlaws motorcycle clubs in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne started around 7 a.m.
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is accused of distributing drugs, using and threatening to use violence, extortion, firearms violations, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling and insurance fraud, according to federal court documents.
There are 42 suspects facing 37 charges in a 70-page federal indictment. It took 11 SWAT teams to help with the Wednesday morning raids in which federal authorities seized drugs, money, cars and about a dozen motorcycles from the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
"For more than three years this volatile mixture that I have just identified has fueled a dangerous criminal organization," U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett said of the motorcycle club.
Hogsett compared the Outlaws to a sophisticated business.
"They trade in an inventory of drugs, guns and violence," Hogsett said Wednesday, "and this morning, I am pleased to say, that that business was closed for good."
It's a case authorities describe as the largest bust of organized crime in the history of Indianapolis.
One suspect is not in custody. Investigators are looking for Terrell Lamont Adams, whose photo can be seen by clicking on the "Photo" tab in this story.
Residents of the area of the Indianapolis club said they heard a loud bang early in the morning, which they believe to have been a flash grenade.
WANE-TV reports they saw federal agents taking boxes into the building and collecting items. Agents were also seen taking down the sign of the Outlaws club.
In 2009, 14 members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club from Indiana and Michigan pleaded guilty to federal assault, drug, and other charges. Prosecutors described the Outlaws as an international criminal organization.
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