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Prosecutors announced the arrests this week, alleging that members of the operation sold cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone and fentanyl-laced heroin, which has been identified as the cause of five fatal overdoses.
In total, it is alleged that the operation net its members more than $1 million a year.
The investigation into the drug ring began in earnest in December last year after there was a rise in criminal activity on the reservation, including violence, drug sales, and overdoses. The arrests were made on Thursday, Oct. 24, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini announced.
Nine of the 24 arrested live on the reservation and are reportedly members of the tribe. Investigators seized 120 grams of heroin and fentanyl, 10 pounds of marijuana, 90 grams of cocaine and firearms, Sini said.
In a statement, the Council of Trustees for the Shinnecock Community said that they “did not have prior knowledge of the operation, the Shinnecock Community at large has suffered greatly due to the opioid and fentanyl epidemic and Tribal members have consistently requested the assistance of outside law enforcement agencies to help combat the issue.”
Among those charged, the alleged leaders of the operation, Justin Elazer, 29, of Southampton; Ryan Kellis, 32, of Southampton; and Benjamin Diaz, 47, of the Bronx; were charged as “kingpins” and operating as a major trafficker. If convicted, they face 25 years to life in prison.
Others face charges that include conspiracy, cocaine, criminal drug sale, criminal possession of a controlled substance other drug and weapons charges.
"For far too long, criminals have attempted to evade law enforcement and hide on the Shinnecock Reservation, terrorizing the law-abiding members of the Shinnecock nation, selling drugs and committing various acts of violence," Sini stated. "That ends today."
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