'Nauti' gang members charged with death of Hyannis woman

CAPE COD — Federal and local authorities said they busted a major drug trafficking organization within a gang whose leader is also suspected in a brutal murder.

Tuesday morning, state and local police, along with ATF agents and US Marshals, raided four locations in Cape Cod, seizing heroin, cash and guns associated with their months-long investigation.

Authorities said the "Nauti Block" crew, named for the neighborhood in Hyannis where they grew up, was led by Denzel Chisolm, who along with an associate named Christopher Wilkins, purchased large quantities of heroin and then distributed it to be sold by lower level dealers.

"The Nauti Crew gang is a major drug trafficking organization that has a long standing history of committing violent criminal acts in many towns throughout the Cape," said ATF agent Dan Kumor. "This gang was intent on terrifying or eliminating anyone who posed a threat to their criminal activities."

Police said as they were investigating the wide net of drug activity, they stumbled upon a connection to the stabbing death of Hyannis native Christine Ferreira.

Ferreira was found stabbed and shot to death at a rest area on Route 6 in the early morning hours of Sept. 19, 2015.

According to court documents released Tuesday, Ferreira was lured there by the a man named Tyrone Gomes, who was a member of the Nauti gang and also allegedly sold drugs for Chisolm.

Police arrested Gomes in March after a surveillance team followed his car from a stash house that Chisolm used to store heroin and cocaine, according to court documents.

In an interview with police, Gomes admitted to bringing Ferreira to the rest stop where Chisolm and his sister waited to ambush her, according to federal authorities.

In court documents, investigators said the murder was retaliation, after Ferreira testified against a fellow Nauti gang member in a 2011 case that sent him to prison.

District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said Ferreira's family was relieved to learn the arrests in connection with her death.

Federal authorities said they also hoped the charges would help stem the tide of heroin that has overwhelmed the region and led to a high rate of overdoses and overdose deaths.

"By removing these individuals that provide the heroin that's widely spread throughout the Cape, we hope this will have a significant impact on the supply, that it will not be there," said US Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

Cox Media Group