Authorities say 15 alleged members of the Bloods street gang have been accused of selling heroin laced with the powerful, deadly opiate fentanyl and of running a dogfighting ring on Long Island.
The suspects were arrested following a series of raids at five homes in Roosevelt and Freeport Wednesday morning, Nassau County authorities said. The arrests come after a five-month investigation into the dogfighting and drug operations.
Narcotics officers seized guns, drugs and dogfighting gear during the raids. Animal Control officers also rescued 11 pit bulls, including one 10-week-old puppy. At least one of the dogs appears to have participated in fights and was pictured with scarring and lesions across its face.
The drugs seized included prescription pills and heroin, some of which was laced with fentanyl. The powerful prescription painkiller is as much as 50 times more powerful than heroin and is sometimes added to heroin to increase its potency. The practice has contributed to dozens of overdose deaths over the past several years.
Meanwhile, New York City authorities announced Thursday that 15 other people in the Bronx had been arrested in an unrelated drug case where conspirators sold police heroin branded with the word “Scarface.”
Suspects in that case sold more than 2,000 envelopes of branded heroin to for more than $26,000. Authorities found heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine when they searched three stash houses in the University Hill neighborhood, along with a rubber stamp with the word “Scarface.” Two children were also found at one of the houses.
The suspects in both cases were expected to be arraigned on Thursday.
