Several people connected in a massive drug ring that supplied to dealers across the United States were arrested Tuesday, prosecutors announced.
Authorities have arraigned at least 12 of the 17 suspects after they seized ‘5 ½ kilograms of cocaine, 4 ounces of heroin and $190,000 in cash’ as well as three luxury cars and a Richard Millewatch watch over the course of four raids in recent weeks.
The members charged were identified as: Ashley Cumbo, 27, Sully Botello, 33, Sandra Marseilles, 38, Naeemah Smith, 37, John Beaubrun, 38, Ebony Johnson, 36, Emmanuel Lemite, 38, Musheer Reid, 34, Jaksem Phileppe, 42, Jean-Luc Theodore, 35, Kervin Etienne, 37, and Lyonel Beaubrun, 41.
The remainder of suspects have been imprisoned as they await their arraignment, authorities said in a Wednesday statement.
Authorities have arraigned at least 12 of the 17 suspects after they seized ‘5 ½ kilograms of cocaine, 4 ounces of heroin and $190,000 in cash’
The drugs were transported from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens
The family stored the drugs in ‘trap houses’ in the New York City area before distributing them to dealers across the country
Police referred to the illicit operation as ‘a family affair’ involving two brothers and their cousins who supplied to dealers in ‘New York City, Long Island, Upstate New York, Chicago, Maine, Maryland and Virginia,’ over the course of a year and a half, according to an NBC New York report.
The drugs were consistently transported from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens.
The family stored the drugs in ‘trap houses’ in the New York City area before distributing them to dealers across the country, which was revealed through electronic eavesdropping, prosecutors revealed.
District Attorney Madeline Singas said the bust ‘has dismantled what (is) alleged to be a multi-state, cross country drug trafficking enterprise that pumped huge quantities of cocaine and deadly heroin into communities and throughout the northeast.’
Lyonel Beaubrun (left) and Kervin Etienne were said to have orchestrated the drug ring
Over a dozen people were charged for operating a drug enterprise that transported cocaine and heroin from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix
The drugs were transported to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York and stored in trap houses
Singas said ‘federal, state and local’ partners worked seamlessly together ‘to uncover the novel smuggling methods used in this ‘family business’ and to shut it down before more lives were ruined.’
Three of the men in the family were said to have orchestrated the massive drug operation, which include the eldest members Beaubrun, Etienne and another unidentified member.
In a other major busts last month, nearly 270 pounds of illicit drugs were confiscated from residential buildings in The Bronx and Queens.
The Drug Enforcement Agency and New York Police Department reportedly seized enough of the increasingly popular and lethal opioid, fentanyl, to kill as many as 32 million individuals.
‘Federal, state and local’ partners worked seamlessly together ‘to uncover the novel smuggling methods used in this ‘family business,’ a DA said
The group supplied to dealers in New York City, Long Island, Upstate New York, Chicago, Maine, Maryland and Virginia
The bust is just one of many to take place in the New York City area in recent months
A high volume of heroin and cocaine were also recovered from a Kew Gardens apartment from the August 1 bust.
Four suspects have been arrested in the massive sting — including Rogelio Alvarado-Robles and Blanca Flores-Solis from the August bust, and Edwin Guzman and Manuel Rivera-Santana in September.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said ‘the sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking,’ while ‘a record number of people in New York City’ are dying from lethal overdoses.
‘The city is used as a hub of regional distribution for a lethal substance that is taking thousands of lives throughout the Northeast.’
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown hopes authorities continue to crack down on the distributors.
Evidence of the operation was found through electronic eavesdropping, prosecutors said
‘These two investigations that led to the seizure of these drugs will undoubtedly save lives and we will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to combat this growing epidemic,’ Brown said.
In August, authorities seized a $3 million haul of heroin and fentanyl from inside an Uber car in Upper West Side, Manhattan.
DEA officials stopped Uber driver Richard Rodriguez on the corner of 121st Street and Amsterdam Avenue after surveillance footage showed a second suspect, David Rodriguez, carrying two suspicious boxes from a Central Park West apartment into the company vehicle.
During the stop, agents found a ‘clear plastic bag containing a tan powdery substance’ in one box and in the second cylindrical box, fentanyl and heroin inside Ziplock bags.
Both men were arrested, while officials later saw two other men on surveillance in the same Central Park West complex who were believed to be involved in a drug-related gang.
Jesus Perez-Cabral and Johnny Beltrez were taken into custody after Perez-Cabral admitted he had a .25 caliber Beretta pistol and a variety of drugs inside his 6D apartment.
DEA Special Agent James Hunt said the seizure contained ‘enough potency to kill half of the population’ in New York City alone.
‘Fentanyl is manufactured death that drug dealers are mixing with heroin. I commend the brave men and women in law enforcement who are risking their lives tracking down this toxin before it contributes to more fatal overdoses,’ Hunt said.
‘The volume of heroin and highly potent fentanyl entering New York City is staggering, but so is the amount being removed from the streets as a result of successful collaborations between law enforcement partners,’ Prosecutor Brennan said in August.
‘In this case, millions of dollars in suspected heroin and fentanyl was seized just steps from Central Park, a top destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
‘By reducing the supply of these dangerous drugs, we are saving lives and sending a clear message that those who seek to profit by peddling poison will be put out of business and brought to justice.’
Drug overdoses killed roughly 64,000 people in the United States in 2016, which was a rise from the 2015 statistic of 52,404, according to the annual CDC report.
Fentanyl and other opioid overdoses accounted for more than 20,000 of the fatalities last year.