Dozens of alleged drug dealers and gang members have been arrested in Mount Vernon since the beginning of operation "Take Back The Streets," police say.

"We are going to stop the violence here in Mount Vernon," says Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Chong.

According to Chong, the operation that began eight months earlier following a wave of violence resulted in 31 arrests. Police also seized four guns and felony-weight drugs, including crack, marijuana and cocaine.

Chong says his detectives targeted organized drug dealing and gangs like the Bloods and the Crips.

"We affected every single gang in Mount Vernon," he says.

Police say they also captured two alleged ringleaders in the city's drug trade, Thomas Johnson and William Hardee. Both are accused of trafficking large quantities of crack, cocaine and marijuana.