Fifth District MPD Announces "KGB Graffiti Crew Takedown"

The arrest report below was sent out by Andy Solberg, Commander of the MPD's Fifth District, and it raised a couple of questions. First, we were struck by the fact that a DC gang was using "KGB" as its chosen name. Do they like the identification with the much-feared former Soviet secret police? Or is that just a random coincidence on their initials, "Krazy Graf Brothers"? Second, you may remember that we reported in July on a city-sponsored art project by MuralsDC to reach out to "taggers" and get them involved in creating murals, rather than graffiti, on available DC wall spaces. We're just wondering if KGB Crew Members, who seem to be a well-known graffiti crew in the city, never got the message about the art project, or if  the undercover police operation was already in place back in July, leading up to the busts last week.


Anyone with information or insight, we would welcome your comments!

On Thursday and Friday, September 8th and 9th, members of the Fifth District’s Vice Office made four arrests, and a fifth arrest was made by members of the Fourth District on a Fifth District warrant of members associated with the “KGB Crew”. The KGB Crew, “Krazy Graf Brothers” is a group of people we believe are responsible for “tagging” buildings, warehouses, shops and businesses, railroad tunnels, and even schools and houses of worship throughout the Fifth District and the city with their graffiti.

The 5D Vice Unit of undercover officers also served three search warrants on locations related to this investigation, and these led to the recovery of one handgun, drugs and drug paraphernalia, and of course, dozens of cans of aerosol spray paint.

Among other “tags”, we believe the KGB Crew is responsible for such tags as “Che”, “Aera”, “KAE”, “Huf”, “Gator” and the related “G8R”, and other tags and graffiti. No doubt, many of you have seen these tags across the Fifth District community.

As we move forward with prosecution, we want to get the community involved with putting an end to this.

With the assistance of DPW’s Graffiti Abatement Team, we ask that if anyone sees graffiti anywhere in the city, please call the Graffiti Abatement Team at 202-645-5392, and ask for their assistance with cleaning up the graffiti. You can also access information about DPW’s Litter and Graffiti Prevention program, which began in 2008, through their website at dpw.dc.gov. As the website states, “Graffiti tarnishes the appearance of our neighborhoods. Gang-related graffiti threatens violence or identify turf boundaries.”

Thank you for your assistance with this.

Andy Solberg, Commander Fifth District