A raid last week led to the arrest of two brothers from Flushing who are allegedly linked to a series of drug sales across Queens, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
Mahmut Tashkent, 35, and Shaadil Tashket, 31, were arrested on Oct. 6, the day of the raid during which more than 10,000 controlled substance pills and over $140,000 in cash were recovered from four different locations.
The brothers face charges including criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. If convicted, Mahmut Tashkent faces up to 20 years in prison; Shaadil Tashkent faces up to nine years, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
On Oct. 6, the NYPD’s Queens South Gang Squad executed four court-authorized warrants at an upstate New York storage facility that Mahmut Tashkent owns, along with the defendants’ Flushing home and their two vehicles, prosecutors said.
At the storage unit in Orange County, authorities seized approximately 10,000 controlled substance pills, a vacuum-sealing machine, mailing envelopes and a digital scale. Prosecutors allege Tashkent made regular trips to the unit, which he used to package the drugs for sale in Queens.
In the apartment, police seized $154,900 in cash, an imitation pistol, a dagger and packaging materials.
In Mahmut Tashkent’s Toytoa, police allegedly uncovered an empty trap area. In Shaadil Tashkent’s Mercedes Benz, police allegedly seized two grams of cocaine.
In addition, prosecutors allege Mahmut Tashket sold over 62,000 controlled substance pills containing Alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax, between Jan. 10 and Oct. 5. In some cases, the pills also contained Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain medication with a rapid onset. The potent drug has been linked to the recent spike in overdose deaths in New York City and throughout the nation.
Shaadil Tashkent is charged with allegedly selling cocaine on three occasions between July 27 and Oct. 6.
The investigation, which began in January, included physical surveillance, intercepted phone calls and GPS-location reviews on the defendants’ cell phone, prosecutors said.
Shaadil Tashkent’s bail was set at $200,000 bond/$150,000 cash. Mahmut Tashkent is being held without bail. The brothers will return to court on Oct. 20.
“These arrests should serve as a warning to other drug dealers that the law enforcement community will continue to aggressively track down those who traffic in drugs and seek to put them in prison,” Brown said.
