NEW YORK—Five women and 34 men were arrested in a drug trafficking bust on Staten Island since Friday night.
The defendants were allegedly running drug trafficking operations out of Port Richmond, West Brighton, New Brighton and Mariners Harbor on Staten Island, and selling the drugs in Heartland Village, West Brighton, and Great Kills, according to a statement from the District Attorney’s office.
Of those arrested, 33 have been indicted for a variety of crimes, including conspiring to commit murder, attempted murder, possessing and transporting illegal firearms, distributing and selling cocaine, stealing motorcycles, and burglarizing homes.
“When known Bloods gang members and affiliates make it their business to traffic drugs and guns around Staten Island, NYPD investigators make it theirs to stop them,” said NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in a release.
Kelly said some of the defendants had “histories so violent that they include running over rivals with a motor vehicle.”
Search warrants were executed from last Friday night. Detectives recovered crack cocaine, marijuana plants, marijuana, and assorted ammunition during the raids.
Six firearms that had been transported from Georgia were seized, including a .38-caliber revolver, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a loaded 20-guage sawed-off shotgun, a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, and a .357-caliber revolver.
Investigators also seized more than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine during the operation on Staten Island. Another 21 kilos (46 pounds) was seized in Laredo, Texas, that was allegedly destined for distribution on Staten Island.
The NYPD investigation, given the code name ‘Operation Mayberry,’ spanned 16 months and included undercover police officers, and electronic surveillance.
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