AUGUSTA, Georgia (CNN) - Walking into the “Colur Tyme Tattoo Parlor” is a lot like walking into a head shop. One wall is lined with gang monikers and symbols, the other with bongs for smoking marijuana and other drugs — one even shaped like a skull.
(Colur Tyme Tattoo Parlor)
Only this head shop had a twist in its walls…it was a setup; a police front in a sting operation to bust gang members in this Georgia river city that most people associate with the Masters Golf Tournament, not violent thugs with high-powered weapons whom are involved in organised crime and drug trafficking.
The idea was coined by Richmond County Sheriff Ron Strength, who wanted to snuff out gangs carrying out violent crimes in his east Georgia community. The idea was to create a place where gang members would feel at ease and let their guard down, like being at home.
“We put the idea in their heads that there’s no way these guys are in law enforcement,” said sheriff’s Lt. Scott Peebles. And that they did. Authorities said some guns sold to the shop were used in crimes just hours earlier.
All-in-all the operation was a success. On Wednesday, more than 100 sheriff’s officers, state investigators and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives carried out a major bust after an 18-month joint investigation into the gang activity. Sixty-eight suspects were arrested on charges ranging from trafficking of illegal weapons to serious drug offenses. Authorities seized more than 300 weapons, including high-powered assault rifles.
(Guns Seized from Colour Tyme Tattoo Parlor)
