Authorities arrested several people after discovering a marijuana and cocaine sales operation in seven luxury apartments in Brooklyn on Friday.
Officers dismantled a sophisticated drug ring hidden in plain sight in a peaceful Dyker Heights neighborhood dotted with homes and schools.
“There were seven apartments on multiple floors,” Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kaz Daughtry explained. “Safe houses, storage houses, and distribution centers in this beautiful luxury building behind us.”
Inside those apartments, a video supplied by city officials showed the beginnings of what police call a drug trafficking and money laundering hub, complete with designer pills and wads of cash. There were cash-counting devices and two weapons.
“This wasn’t just a smoke shop; this was a trafficking operation,” Daughtry told the reporter. “A severe threat to public safety, because operations like this encourage criminality. They frequently use illegal firearms to protect themselves, endangering the entire neighborhood.”
Officers handcuffed six people after one allegedly locked himself in a room with guns.
The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s investigation began in Maryland but led detectives to Dyker Heights, where the New York City Sheriff and NYPD conducted intensive surveillance.
“This is an ongoing investigation; there are still other people involved, and we will be knocking on your door soon,” stated New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda.
According to investigators, the group rented the seven units, which were strategically placed across the big complex, in order to avoid attracting suspicion from their neighbors.
Product and customers traveled via the garage, but not always past the staffed front desk.
One neighbor had no idea.
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