Dozens Arrested In Major Undercover Drug Sweep In Jamaica
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Dozens of people were arrested Thursday in a major drug sweep following a five-month undercover investigation at two Queens housing complexes.
Residents of the Baisley Park Housing Development and Rochdale Village – both located in Jamaica, Queens -- were sick and tired of drug pushers turning their hallways and playgrounds into a narcotics marketplace. They decided to put an end to it and called police.
WCBS 880's Sean Adams with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly who says 33 of the drug buys were within 1,000 feet of public schools
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"The vast majority of the residents of these two housing complexes are decent, hard working citizens who have been virtually held hostage by the gangster lifestyle," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said 14 people have been indicted and 48 others arrested in the large-scale undercover operation. The defendants, ages 16 to 62, are charged with selling powdered and crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, oxycodone, ecstasy and BZP (benzylpiperzine) to undercover police officers on hundreds of separate occasions.
"Over the course of the last five months, three undercover officers purchased a total of $107,000 worth of drugs – that's just three undercovers engaged in approximately 200 separate purchases," Kelly said.
Ten of the defendants are accused of selling drugs near a drug-free school zone.
"These included sales in the vicinity of three public schools: I.S. 72 on Guy Brewer Boulevard, P.S. 123, and John Adams High School Annex," Kelly said.
During the investigation, police seized 60 pounds of marijuana, more than four ounces of cocaine and other narcotics, about $30,000 in cash and seven guns. Six cars were also seized for forfeiture.
Charges include criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon.
"The vast majority of the residents of these two housing complexes are decent, hard working citizens who have been virtually held hostage by the gangster lifestyle," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release.
