"And we will not pause in our pursuit to bring you to justice and rid you from our streets," he said.
Five of the 15 charged in Operation City Wide were still at large late Wednesday; the other 10 were arrested in Camden, Cherry Hill, Philadelphia, and nearby communities. All 15 face racketeering and drug offenses.
Authorities said the ring dealt tens of thousands of dollars' worth of drugs each week.
Kyle Ogletree, 27, of Cherry Hill, and his uncle Sean Ogletree, 34, of Philadelphia, the alleged leaders of the drug network, were among those arrested, authorities said.
The other 13 charged are mostly Camden residents, ranging in age from 20 to 30.
Kyle Ogletree is an alleged "five-star general" in the G-Shine Bloods, one of several Bloods sets in Camden, officials said. A handful of other suspects are members of various sets of Bloods, including the G-Shine, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office.
A New Jersey State Police 2010 street gang survey shows a presence of gangs in all of the state's counties, and a new presence in about 30 municipalities.
Nine counties reported a presence of 90 or more gangs, including Camden County, which had about 107 gangs. The Bloods are in all 21 counties, and three-quarters of 254 municipalities reported a gang presence, a slight decrease since the 2007 survey in the number of jurisdictions reporting a presence of Bloods.
In other local cases, members of a Bloods set have been charged in the torture and murder of a Burlington County couple in Camden one year ago.
And a suspected Bloods member was charged in the death of a 20-year-old Camden woman killed by a stray bullet during a fight over drug territory, also in Camden. A preliminary investigation showed a possible territory battle in that area between sets of Bloods, according to a law enforcement intelligence report.
Wednesday's arrests followed a nine-month investigation led by the state Division of Criminal Justice that involved Camden police, Magnolia police, state police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and other agencies.
Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said such long-term investigations are made possible with the help of state and federal agencies because of the loss of manpower locally.
The arrests came slightly more than a month after the Camden Police Department laid off nearly half of its force - 163 officers - and as the Camden County Prosecutor's Office prepared to possibly lay off about 66 people, including 18 of its 61 assistant prosecutors.
Authorities also seized drugs and cash, along with two Camden homes owned by Kyle Ogletree and a Nissan Titan from Sean Ogletree.
The only defense lawyer who had contacted officials was Dennis Wixted, who represents Kyle Ogletree. He said he had not reviewed the case.
Drug sets have plagued Camden for years, with dealers brazenly selling in the daylight.
"We know and the residents of Camden certainly know . . . that where there is drug dealing, there is always violence linked and tied to it," state Attorney General Paula Dow said.
Contact staff writer Darran Simon at 856-779-3829 or dsimon@phillynews.com.This article contains information from the Associated Press.
