Suspected drug den busted down street from Long Island elementary school
NEW CASSEL, Long Island (WABC) -- A narcotics ring was uncovered at a home down the street from an elementary school on Long Island.
Nassau County police broke up the suspected drug den on Fourth Avenue and seized drugs and weapons and rescued three pit bulls.
What's alarming to many in the neighborhood is that the house is located within a mile of Park Avenue Elementary in Westbury.
"If it were not for community complaints, if it were not for people speaking up, it's is very likely we would not be announcing these arrests here today," said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
Six people in the house now facing a host of charges including drug and weapon possession after police carefully waited until three others living there, who are under age 18, had safely made it out.
That is when they found an AR-15 assault rifle, left unsecured with a high capacity magazine nearby and the three pit bulls just living in cages in the garage - covered in their own feces and urine- and all sorts of drugs - from sedatives and ecstasy to crack and cocaine.
"It's troubling to me that somebody would have the nerve to do it right there and not have any care about kids going to the school and not have any care about the three kids that were living in that home," said Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
It's not the first time police have been called to the home in recent months.
They say one call involved shots fired, another involved a drug deal and a third call involved a woman who overdosed and died.
"Just knowing that all that was there, the school is right there, knowing that there's so many children that go through this area, that's scary," said resident Karen Ramos.
Three of the defendants were also members of the Bloods gang. All but one have prior arrests.
Meanwhile, those in the community hope what was clearly both an eyesore and a threat will now be gone.
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