H Block Gang Member Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy

BOSTON - A member of the violent Boston-based gang, H-Block, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for drug conspiracy charges.

Trea Lankford, a/k/a "Montana," a/k/a "Heffna Boss Don," a/k/a "Tre Cain," 34 of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to eight years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. In October, 2025, Lankford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Lankford was one of 10 H-Block gang members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multi-year investigation of H Block beginning in 2021 in response to an uptick in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings and violence. According to court documents, over 500 grams of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and fentanyl, as well as over 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper were seized during the investigation.

According to the charging documents, the H Block Street Gang is one of the most feared and influential city-wide gangs in Boston. Originally formed in the 1980s as the Humboldt Raiders in the Roxbury section of Boston, the gang re-emerged in the 2000s as H Block. Current members of H Block have a history of violent confrontation with law enforcement, including an incident in 2015 when a member shot a Boston Police officer at point blank range without warning or provocation.

From 2022 through 2023, Lankford, a long-time H Block gang member, participated in a conspiracy to distribute various controlled substances, including fentanyl, powdered cocaine and cocaine base (crack). On numerus occasions, Lankford conducted drug deals on various dates with an undercover officer, often accompanied by co-conspirators.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Randy Maloney, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. The investigation was supported by the Massachusetts State Police; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Suffolk County District Attorney's Office; and the Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case along with Jeremy Franker of the Justice Department's Violent Crime & Racketeering Section.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.