An eight-month undercover investigation by District B-3's Drug Control Unit and the FBI has yielded 10 federal indictments and three Suffolk County arrests, all related to the distribution of crack cocaine within the Franklin Field housing development. Many of those arrested were also involved in a street gang based at Franklin Field that has a long-standing and violent beef with youth from the Franklin Hill area, prompting the investigation.

"We just wanted to send a message that if you keep picking up the guns we'll come down your hide, and I think the federal indictments have said that," said B-3 Captain James Claiborne.

"Some people happy, some aren't happy," Claiborne said of the reaction from other residents of the development. "The families of those who were indicted are facing eviction. But you shouldn't have to live next to drug dealers and the things that come with the drug dealing."

Franklin Field is run by the Boston Housing Authority, and tenants sign leases that prohibit drug activity, so any violation typically results in eviction via a hearing and ruling by Boston's Housing Court. Each of the federal defendants face a variety of charges, some with maximum sentences up to 40 years, and mandatory prison sentences as high as 5 years.

"I would also like other young people in the neighborhood to take note," said Claiborne, "because we're not done here, we're just moving on to the next place."