COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 13-19, 2019 29
Police arrest 7
in Kings County
drug takedown
New York’s Finest seized fetanyl, cocaine and heroin from
seven individuals. Getty Images
BY CHANDLER KIDD
Cops on Tuesday arrested
seven suspected
members of a largely
Brooklyn-based drug
ring that fl ooded the
streets of New York City
with cocaine and heroin
following a 13-monthlong
investigation.
The suspects are being
charged on 97 counts
in two separate indictments
for charges related
to traffi cking 500
grams of heroin and fi ve
kilograms of cocaine
— drugs that were typically
cut with the extremely
potent and often
fatal synthetic opiate
fentanyl, according to
the state’s top prosecutor.
“This toxic cocktail
of heroin laced with
fentanyl has been taking
lives and ravaging
communities throughout
New York and we
are committed to rooting
out the drug rings
that fl ood our streets
with it,” said Attorney
General Letitia James.
“Safety is our top priority
and we will continue
to take down those who
attempt to profi t of peddling
illicit drugs,”
Detectives with the
Attorney General’s Organized
Crime Task
Force and the Special
Investigations Unit of
the New York State Police
spent more than a
year sifting through
hundreds of hours of
wiretapped phone conversations,
in addition
to conducting covert
surveillance of the alleged
drug peddlers,
fi ve of whom resided in
Brooklyn.
Over the course of
the investigation, law
enforcement seized 500
grams of heroin and
fentanyl, along with 450
grams of cocaine, and
thousands of dollars
worth of drug money.
The Brooklyn ringleader
of the narcotics
operation faces a mandatory
life sentence
in state prison for the
charge of Operating as
a Major Traffi cker, according
to James.
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