A leader of the Tiny Rascals Gang, one of the largest and deadliest street gang networks in the country, was sentenced for leading a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy across the North Shore and into Maine, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office.

Armani Minier-Tejada, also known as “Shotz,” and “Gustavo,” was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 40 years in prison and five years of supervised release in U.S. District Court in Boston on Thursday.

Minier-Tejada participated in six shootings and acquired more then 40 firearms and multiple “selector switches,” capable of turning semi-automatic guns into machine guns, for himself and fellow gang members. He was also the supplier for multiple large-scale drug dealers in Maine and he and his co-conspirators were responsible for trafficking more than 10 kilograms each of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Massachusetts into Maine.

The investigation began in 2020 as a direct response to an increasing number of gang shootings in communities north of Boston. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Minier-Tejada was also held accountable for his role in a shooting which claimed the life of Noe Hernandez and injured four others at a cookout on July 4, 2020 in Lynn.

Minier-Tejada and his co-conspirators, including members of the Lynn Tiny Rascal Gangs subset, were involved in a conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Boston, the North Shore, and the Bangor, Maine area.

Last summer, Minier-Tejada was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, cocaine, and other controlled substances, conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and use and carrying, brandishing, and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.