74°
The arrest of 24 people was announced on Thursday, Oct. 24, by officials who said the ring sold everything from cocaine and marijuana to opioids and more than $1 million a year in heroin laced with fentanyl.
“For far too long, criminals have attempted to evade law enforcement and hide on the Shinnecock Reservation, terrorizing the law-abiding citizens of the Shinnecock Nation by selling drugs and committing various acts of violence, but that ends today,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said.
Sini said the group's product has been linked to at least five fatal overdoses.
The investigation began in December 2018 following an uptick of criminal activity on the Shinnecock Reservation, including an increase in firearm violence, narcotics possession and sales, and fatal heroin overdoses, officials said
Investigators found evidence that William Bess III, 35, of Southampton, allegedly purchased large quantities of heroin and cocaine and then resold the drugs to residents on the Shinnecock Reservation and others.
Johnnie Booker, 35, of Bellport, was identified as his alleged supplier of cocaine.
Other major "kingpin" operators are said to be Justin Eleazer, 29, and Ryan Kellis, 32, both of Southampton, who allegedly conspired to distribute heroin and cocaine to members of the Shinnecock Reservation and other residents of the Southampton area.
Both Eleazer and Kellis are alleged to have used other members of the organization to test the heroin they were selling to ensure its potency and determine its value.
Their alleged suppliers were named as Benjamin Diaz, 47, of the Bronx, and Kenneth Rivero, 34, of Riverhead.
In addition to the arrests, police also executed search warrants at five locations and seized 120 grams of heroin and fentanyl, 90 grams of cocaine, more than 10 pounds of marijuana, an assault weapon, numerous shotguns, and rifles, and drug paraphernalia, including materials consistent with drug packaging, scales, grinders, and cutting agents, Sini said.
Sini added that nine of the 24 arrested live on the reservation and are members of the tribe.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Massapequa and receive free news updates.
