What to Know
- A retired NYPD Narcotics Bureau detective pleaded guilty Monday for her role in a large-scale heroin ring, authorities announced
- Karan Young, 50, plead guilty to conspiracy for allegedly helping her boyfriend avoid law enforcement detection while he transporting drugs
- Authorities say that 14 people were arrested in connection to the large-scale heroin ring that operated in Nassau, Queens and Brooklyn
A retired NYPD Narcotics Bureau detective pleaded guilty Monday for her role in a large-scale heroin ring that operated in Nassau, Queens and Brooklyn, authorities say.
Karan Young, 50, plead guilty to conspiracy in the fourth degree for helping her romantic partner, Leigh Jackson, with a mini-NYPD shield and PBA card to help him avoid detection by law enforcement while he transported narcotics.
According to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Jackson and other members of the Bushwick-based distribution network, allegedly packaged and sold heroin in sleeves and grams to various drug dealers in Nassau, Queens and Brooklyn and also used barber shops and auto body shops in Brooklyn as distribution points.
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Singas said that the district attorney's office began investigating a Hempstead-based heroin dealer in January 2016, which revealed that the dealer was allegedly supplied by Jackson.
According to authorities, Young, a retired NYPD detective from Laurelton, Queens, allegedly helped Jackson in his narcotics distribution by collecting money for him. At the time of her arrest, Young was working for Delta Airlines at LaGuardia Airport, authorities say.
“This retired narcotics detective knew the deadly impact of heroin yet she helped her boyfriend profit from dealing poison in our communities,” Singas said in a statement. “Anyone who enables the drug traffickers who fuel this epidemic should expect to be met with aggressive prosecution.”
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Authorities say the 14 individuals apprehended in connection to the drug ring distributed more than 23,000 doses of heroin a week and sold about $170,000 a week of the narcotic.
The arrests were the result of 15-month-long investigation, known as “Operation Tri-County Traffic.”
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Jackson pled to attempting operating as a major trafficker on Dec. 12, 2017 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Young’s attorney, Christopher Graziano, said he was pleased the judge dismissed the most serious charge of conspiracy in the second degree for lack of evidence.
"We felt that pleading guilty to this lower charge with no jail time was the best thing for Ms. Young to do under the circumstances," Graziano said.
