Updated

Seven arrested on drug charges

Suppliers dealt heroin across the South Shore, police say

Posted

Seven drug suppliers were arrested last week for their roles in allegedly distributing 10,000 individual doses of heroin per week throughout the South Shore communities of Merrick, Freeport, Seaford, Wantagh, Massapequa and Long Beach.

The Nassau County Police Department — with help from the district attorney’s office and the Drug Enforcement Agency — recovered about $750,000 in drugs during the arrests, including three kilograms of cocaine, 3,500 doses of heroin, 20 pounds of mixing agents, marijuana and THC. The police also recovered two vehicles in which the drugs were transported, a Toyota Avalon and a Mercedes-Benz, as well as more than $20,000 in cash.

“There are no boundaries, there are no lines that they won’t cross; they’ll deal wherever they end up,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said at a press conference on Monday. “This is a significant drug distribution ring that has a number of dealers, and these are the mid-level and upper-level suppliers that have been arrested.”

Beginning last month, detectives in the Nassau County Police Department’s narcotics and vice bureau began an investigation based on leads surrounding Freeport resident Brian Jones, according to Krumpter. Jones, the operation’s “principal player,” would receive the illegal drugs from Pedro Ramirez, of Bronx, where he would then transport them to the South Shore. Police used wiretapping to gain information on the dealings, Krumpter added.

Jones, 35, was arrested Wednesday and charged with operating as a major trafficker, four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy. Ramirez, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy.

Long Beach residents Jesse Arias, 37, Reynaldo Arias, 58, and William Johnson, 61, along with Merrick residents Sean Arias, 28, and Robert Baumberger, 26, were arrested on similar drug charges. The seven defendants were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead in the last few days.

Page 1 / 2