A large-scale undercover narcotics investigation recently resulted in the indictment of fourteen individuals, as well as the arrest of 48 others in Queens.
The investigation, which began in August 2010, took place at the Baisley Park Housing Development and Rochdale Village, both in Jamaica.
The defendants are charged with selling crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, ecstasy and marijuana to undercover officers.
Thirty-three of these sales occurred within drug-free school zones, which if can lead to harsher sentences for the accused if convicted.
“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 of a relatively few individuals who are alleged to have operated with near impunity,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, who announced the arrests at a press conference with NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Thursday, February 17.
“The arrests in this case illustrate the determination and persistence of both police and prosecutors in attacking drug trafficking in and around public housing in order to improve the quality of life for law-abiding residents there,” said Kelly.
The defendants, whose ages range from 16 to 62, are charged with a variety of crimes with penalties ranging from up to one year to up to twenty years in prison.
The roundup in southeastern Queens seized seven weapons along with cash, cars and drugs.
The investigation began when detectives in the narcotics division were given tips to the illegal activities in these complexes.
