Officials: 35 Indicted In Washington Heights Drug Bust

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Prosecutors have charged 35 people with allegedly selling cocaine and heroin in Washington Heights.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced the suspects are being charged for their alleged roles in two separate drug operations.

The investigation started two years ago after complaints from workers at P.S. 115 and from neighbors, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.

A 119-count indictment unsealed Thursday includes charges of operating as a major drug trafficker.

Two of the 35 defendants, Roberto Garcia and Nancy Garcia Mustafa, are charged under the Drug Kingpin statute as alleged major traffickers, Carlin reported.

"With these arrests, a 24-hour cocaine delivery service and an open-air drug market that have plagued the residents of Washington Heights are closed for business," Vance said in a statement. "The amount of criminal activity alleged in this indictment – centered on just a few city blocks – is staggering."

Most of the suspects were members of the Trinitarios street gang, authorities said.

According to prosecutors, they sold cocaine and heroin to dozens of customers every day and made between $10 and $400 for each transaction. Others are charged with delivering the drugs.

Vance said most of the drug sales happened in apartment building lobbies or outside near two elementary schools.

"If that doesn't upset you to be happening next to a public school for grade kids, I don't know what will," Vance said.

Investigators said sellers would even give away free samples of heroin to spark new business.

During a press conference Thursday, Vance showed reporters surveillance video of one of the alleged drug sales. In the video, an alleged gang member appears to accept money from an elderly man looking to purchase crack cocaine as children walk nearby, Vance said.

"For months, young children and their parents were forced to take detours on their way to school to avoid the activity detailed in these indictments," Vance said. "Law-abiding New Yorkers should not have to fear that their neighbors are selling dangerous drugs, nor the violence that comes hand-in-hand with the sale of illegal drugs. We will work with our partners in the NYPD to ensure that these arrests are not merely a temporary fix, but one of many steps taken to build a safer, healthier community."

The challenge now for law enforcement is to make sure no one else comes into the neighborhood and sets up shop to pick up where those dealers left off.

"We don't let anyone come in and fill the vacuum," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo. "We also work with the community after the fact."

Police said officers on foot patrols will make sure life stays sweet on the block and drug dealing doesn't make a comeback.

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