Cops on Tuesday arrested seven suspected members of a largely Brooklyn-based drug ring that flooded the streets of New York City with cocaine and heroin following a 13-month-long investigation.
The suspects are being charged on 97 counts in two separate indictments for charges related to trafficking 500 grams of heroin and five 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 flood 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 profit 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, five 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 Trafficker, according to James.
