Rhode Island State Police arrested Eric Thomas, 24, of Cranston, Angell Martinez, 20, of Providence, and Jayden Martinez, 18, of Providence on Thursday 8 October 2026 after troopers carried out search warrants.[1] The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, assisted by the Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Cranston Police Special Investigations Unit, said it had concluded a narcotics and firearms investigation into an organised criminal street gang operating in the Providence and Cranston areas.[2] The group was alleged to be associated with firearms-related offences and narcotics trafficking.[2]
During the court-authorized search warrants, officers seized two illegal firearms and considerable ammunition.[2] They also seized multiple extended magazines, 50 grams of cocaine, 40 grams of fentanyl, marijuana and $5,000 in cash.[2] The three face charges including possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, possession of a firearm while committing a controlled-substance offence, and possession with intent to deliver over an ounce of a Schedule II controlled substance.[1] The drug charges listed also include possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana.[2] State police said the search warrants resulted from an investigation into multiple violent criminal groups.[1]
State police said the warrants were part of an 18-month investigation in which the HIDTA task force conducted dozens of search warrants against members of violent groups.[2] The 18-month tally was 18 arrests, 20 firearms, dozens of extended magazines, large amounts of ammunition and seven auto-sear switches.[2] An auto-sear switch is a device used to convert a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic machine gun.[2] The HIDTA task force includes state police, the Cranston, Johnston, Coventry and Narragansett police departments, the DEA and the Rhode Island National Guard counterdrug programme.[2]