According to Associated Press Reports - Many of the commuter customers were from the Town of Smithtown. People between the ages of 20-25 who come from good families. Arrests have been ongoing and some of the customers are in rehab. Click here for NY Post Article
105 LONG ISLAND RESIDENTS AMONG ‘COMMUTER’ CUSTOMERS ARRESTED IN 14-MONTH UNDERCOVER PROBE OF NEW YORK CITY HEROIN DRUG RING Drug Ring Successfully Dismantled; 12 Arrested
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, announced today that one hundred and twenty-one individuals – most of whom reside in Suffolk and Nassau Counties – have been arrested during the past year on drug possession charges for allegedly commuting into New York City to buy heroin and other drugs from a New York City drug ring operating in Queens County and elsewhere. Eight alleged members of the drug ring – including its alleged director – were arrested this week, along with four others.
District Attorney Brown said, “The main defendants are accused of operating as a tightly knit ring that catered almost exclusively to drug buyers from the eastern end of Long Island, virtually turning the Long Island Expressway into the ‘Heroin Highway.’ In carrying out drug sales, it is alleged that customers – including 90 from Suffolk County and 15 from Nassau County who were arrested in the investigation – would call the main dealer, drive into New York City and meet the dealer’s runners at various location in the city – including hotels, restaurants, diners, electronic stores and even a 99-cent store – in an effort to thwart surveillance. However, unbeknownst to them, they, in fact, were under investigation by my office and the New York City Police Department and being marked for arrest, prosecution and prison sentences.”
Commissioner Kelly said, “Where there are illegal drugs being sold, guns and violence are never far behind. One of the defendants was arrested with a loaded Glock on his way to a shoot a customer who owed him money. Another was arrested carrying a loaded AK-47 machine gun. Were it not for the work of NYPD Narcotics detectives and the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, these dangerous dealers would still plague Queens streets.”
Among those arrested is Jermel Broadhurst, who is alleged to have run the drug organization. Others facing various drug charges include Broadhurst’s cousin, Shandell Crabb, and his girlfriend, Chelene R. Nelson, as well as Kenneth Kirkland, Melissa Franqui, Denise Martinez, Carmen Donatiu, Esteban Bello, Wilfred Ortiz and Patrick Fortune.
Over the course of the investigation, officers seized more than 8,000 glassine envelopes of heroin, more than five kilograms of heroin, 2.7 kilograms of cocaine and five pistols (four of them loaded), a shotgun and an assault rifle. In addition to the arrests this week, officers executed three court-authorized search warrants and allegedly recovered heroin inside a grinder, scales, packaging, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, as well as various quantities of heroin, hydrocodone, cyclobenzene, cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana.
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District Attorney Brown said that the NYPD’s Queens Narcotics Division and his Narcotics Investigation Bureau commenced a long-term investigation in November 2010 of a controlled substance organization allegedly being run by the defendant Jermel Broadhurst, which, according to the criminal charges, was selling heroin and other narcotic drugs in Queens County and elsewhere in New York State. It is alleged that, in monitoring ten different telephones utilized by Broadhurst through court-authorized wiretaps, investigators learned that the defendant arranged hundreds of controlled substance transactions by directing customers to various locations in Queens County and elsewhere, where his associates, including Shandell Crabb, Kenneth Kirkland, Patrick Fortune and others, delivered the controlled substances to the customers.
It is additionally alleged that in one sales transaction, an undercover officer called one of Broadhurst’s telephone numbers on November 2, 2010, and asked to purchase heroin. Broadhurst allegedly called the undercover officer back and, in agreeing to sell him heroin, directed the officer to a Best Western hotel located at 33-17 Greenpoint Avenue in Queens. At approximately 7:30 p.m. that night, the undercover allegedly went to the location, met with defendant Kirkland and arranged to purchase three bundles for $200. Kirkland is alleged to have gone into the hotel and exited a short time later, giving 30 glassine envelopes containing heroin to the undercover in exchange for $200 in cash. Kirkland then allegedly gave the undercover his phone number so that he could be reached directly.
Similarly, it is charged that an undercover officer text messaged Broadhurst and attempted to arrange the purchase of a quantity of heroin. Broadhurst allegedly called the undercover officer back and they arranged for the sale of 600 glassine envelopes of heroin. It is alleged that the officer was directed by Broadhurst to meet him at a Subway restaurant at 51-22 Northern Boulevard in Queens. Once the officer was at the restaurant, defendants Kirkland and Melissa Franqui entered the restaurant. Franqui allegedly sat at a table and Kirkland allegedly left a Hennessy cognac box in front of her while he walked toward the restroom. After a short while, it is alleged that Kirkland returned, retrieved the cognac box from the table and handed the undercover officer the box, which contained a total of 600 glassine envelopes of heroin, in exchange for $2,400 in cash.
In two other cases, defendants Patrick Fortune and Esteban Bello are each charged with conspiring with Broadhurst between November 2, 2010, and January 11, 2012, to sell narcotic drugs to various customers at different locations in Queens County and elsewhere. In carrying out their conspiracy, Fortune and Bello each allegedly answered telephone calls from customers, directed them to particular locations, warned associates of attempts by other parties to encroach on their business, as well as discussed efforts to avoid prosecution, sold narcotics and received money from customers
In addition to alleged drug transactions, a number of intercepted telephone calls allegedly pertained to weapons. In one series of phone calls, for instance, it is alleged that on November 14, 2011, police overheard Broadhurst asking Kirkland to find out whether his parents would store an assault rifle at their Far Rockaway residence. It is additionally alleged that after Kirkland confirmed that his parents agreed to store the assault rifle, Broadhurst then arranged for defendant Crabb to transport the firearm from Kirkland’s residence to that of his parents in exchange for $150 from both himself and Kirkland. It is further alleged that Crabb eventually got lost in Far Rockaway, Queens, and Kirkland’s father agreed to meet Crabb and his girlfriend Tneka Rios near the Beach 60th Street subway station. Shortly thereafter, police stopped the Honda Odyssey minivan being operated by Rios and allegedly found Crabb in the front passenger seat and Kirkland’s father, Marcos Feliciano in the middle seat. Police also allegedly observed and recovered from the middle seat area a Norinco semi-automatic MAK-90 assault rifle, along with a
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loaded magazine with a capacity in excess of ten rounds.
District Attorney Brown noted that one hundred twenty-one (121) arrests have been made of individuals who allegedly purchased heroin and other drugs from Broadhurst’s operation over the course of the investigation. Of those arrested, approximately ninety individuals were from Suffolk County, fifteen from Nassau County, seven from Queens County, three from Greene County (NY), two from Ocean County (NJ), one from Kings County and three whose residence is unknown.
The investigation was conducted by Detectives Robert Anderson and Robert Hawkins, of the New York City Police Department’s Queens Narcotics Division, under the supervision of Sergeant Craig Kearney and Lieutenant Christopher Coll, and under the command of Captain Matthew Donagher and Inspector Michael Bryan, Commanding Officer, Narcotics Borough Queens, and under the overall supervision of Assistant Chief Joseph Reznick, Commanding Officer Narcotics Division, and Chief Anthony Izzo, Commanding Officer, Organized Crime Control Bureau.
Assistant District Attorney David H. Chiang, of the District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigations Bureau, is prosecuting the cases under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Wilbert J. LeMelle, Bureau Chief, Karen J. Friedman, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Philip D. Anderson, Supervisor, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It should be noted that criminal complaints are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 9:02PM 