Known Aliases: UBN, East Coast Bloods, 9 Trey Gangsters (founding subset), Sex Money Murder (SMM), Gangsta Killer Bloods (GKB), One Eight Trey (183), Blood Stone Villains (BSV), Valentine Bloods, Mad Stone Villains
Origin: George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC), Rikers Island, New York City — circa 1993. Founded by OG Mack (Omar Portee) and Leonard 'Deadeye' McKenzie as a protective alliance for African American inmates against the dominant Latin Kings and Ñeta organizations within the New York City Department of Corrections (NYCDOC) system.
Active Regions: Primary AOR: New York City (all five boroughs — Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens, Staten Island), Northern New Jersey (Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, Trenton), Connecticut, Philadelphia (PA), Baltimore (MD), Virginia (Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond). Secondary AOR: Massachusetts, North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh), South Carolina, Georgia (Atlanta), Florida. Active within NYCDOC, New York State DOCCS, New Jersey DOC, and Federal BOP facilities. Estimated membership: 15,000–25,000.
Known Alliances: People Nation, Latin Kings
Known Rivalries: Crips (all factions, particularly 823 Crips and other East Coast Crip sets) — primary adversary. Trinitarios (DDP) — violent territorial competition, particularly in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Latin Kings — ongoing friction in correctional and street environments. MS-13 — localized conflicts in suburban areas. Folk Nation-aligned sets — generalized opposition.
Primary Identifiers: Colors: Red (all shades). Symbols: Five-pointed star, bulldog, 031 (UBN code for 'I have love for you, Blood'), 'CK' (Crip Killer), dog paws (circular burn marks on skin, typically on right shoulder). Numeric codes: 031, 212 (NYC area code appropriation), 5 (People Nation alignment). Tattoos: Dog paw burns (branding), five-pointed star on chest, 'SMM' (Sex Money Murder), '9 Trey,' 'MOB' (Member of Bloods), 'SuWoop' script. Apparel: Philadelphia Phillies (P), St. Louis Cardinals (red), Chicago Bulls (red/black), Boston Red Sox (red/B), Cincinnati Reds. Hand signs: 'B' formation (index and middle finger crossed), specific set-level variations. Graffiti: '031,' 'UBN,' 'Suwoop,' 'CK,' five-pointed stars, set-specific identifiers.
Executive Summary:
The United Blood Nation (UBN) is assessed as one of the most significant gang threat vectors on the Eastern Seaboard, functioning as an umbrella organization encompassing numerous semi-autonomous Blood-affiliated sets primarily concentrated in the New York–New Jersey metropolitan corridor. Established in 1993 within the Rikers Island correctional complex by founders Omar 'OG Mack' Portee and Leonard 'Deadeye' McKenzie, the UBN was purpose-built as a collective protection entity for African American detainees facing organized violence from Latin Kings and Ñeta factions within NYCDOC. Following rapid expansion into street-level operations, the UBN evolved into a multi-set criminal enterprise with an estimated 15,000–25,000 members operating across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.
The UBN command structure is decentralized by design, with individual sets (e.g., 9 Trey Gangsters, Sex Money Murder, Gangsta Killer Bloods, Valentine Bloods) maintaining significant operational autonomy while adhering to overarching UBN protocols and the '31 Rules' governing conduct. Principal criminal activities include narcotics trafficking (heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, cannabis), firearms procurement and distribution, armed robbery, identity fraud, wire fraud, prostitution/sex trafficking, and murder. Major federal RICO prosecutions — including the 2019 SDNY case targeting 9 Trey Gangsters (United States v. Hernandez et al., which produced cooperating witnesses from within the entertainment industry) — have significantly impacted leadership cadres. However, the organization's decentralized cell structure and entrenched correctional recruitment pipeline ensure sustained operational capability.