A total of 17 alleged drug traffickers were arrested for running a major cross-country drug trafficking operation from Arizona to New York.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the drug traffickers “pumped huge quantities” of heroin and cocaine into New York and other regions of the country by flying the drugs from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona to JFK Airport, NBC New York reported.
Once in New York, the drug traffickers allegedly stored the large amounts of heroin and cocaine in trap houses in Queens and Nassau County before distributing it along the Atlantic coast. In total, the traffickers distributed to Long Island, Upstate New York, New York City, Chicago, Maryland, Virginia and Maine.
District Attorney Madeline Singas said the sting was a “massive takedown that has dismantled what we alleged to be a multi-state, cross-country drug trafficking enterprise that pumped huge quantities of cocaine and deadly heroin into our communities and throughout the northeast.”
Prosecutors said Kervin Etienne, 37 years-old, Lyonel Beaubren, 41 years-old, as well as another family member, founded the drug operation. Their families apparently live lavish lifestyles in Long Island, New York.
Altogether, investigators seized $190,000 in cash, 5.5 kilograms of cocaine, 4 ounces of heroin, two guns with the serial numbers scratched off, a Richard Millie watch, a Porsche, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz, money counters, packaging supplies, and kilogram presses.
Beaubren, considered the major trafficker in the drug operation, is facing 25 years or life in prison on felony charges.
Meanwhile, the others allegedly involved in the drug operation – between the ages of 27 and 42 years-old – face drug trafficking charges and criminal possession of drugs.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.