15 indicted in alleged drug operation that spanned Long Island and NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
15 indicted in alleged drug operation that spanned LI and parts of NYC
Authorities on Long Island said 15 people are facing charges for an alleged drug operation.

MINEOLA, Long Island (WABC) -- Police on Long Island arrested a group of 15 people for their alleged roles in a drug operation that spanned Nassau, Suffolk, Kings and Queens counties.

In all, 88,000 individual doses of heroin and more than 1,000 grams of cocaine were seized.

The heroin task force also found more than $1 million in cash.

During the four-month investigation, the men accused of being the ringleaders sold between 13,000 to 26,000 individual doses of heroin per month.

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said the drug operation was tied to 15 overdoses in which three people in the county died.

"This massive operation has dismantled the largest known heroin trafficking operation in Nassau County, disrupting the flow of this deadly poison into our communities," Singas said. "Heroin from this syndicate has been linked to at least three fatal overdoses, and we know that putting these alleged traffickers out of business will save lives. I commend our partners for their outstanding collaboration in this operation, and for their unstinting commitment to ending the opioid epidemic."

The drugs were allegedly sold from the parking lot of the Gateway Shopping Center in East New York, Brooklyn for more than six years.

Luis Rivera and Orlando Rodriguez - who are charged with operating as major traffickers - are accused of selling heroin to 74 different customers, including 13 alleged street dealers charged in the indictment.

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