Huge Brooklyn Drug Bust: 7 Arrested After 8 Month DA Investigation

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — An eight month undercover investigation culminated last week in the arrests of seven men accused of dealing crack cocaine, Klonopin, marijuana, Xanax, and heroin in Clinton Hill, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office recently announced.

According to the DA Kenneth Thompson, during one transaction, an undercover investigator purchased 699 containers of heroin for $10 each.

As the investigation unfolded, undercover officers made 48 total drug purchases, the DA said, many of them close to schools and churches.

The investigation began last September following community reports of neighborhood drug dealing, according to Thompson.

The investigation focused on just a few blocks, those running from Gates Avenue to Atlantic Avenue, and between Classon Avenue and Clinton Avenue, the DA said.

The geographic focus of the investigation. Image via Google Maps

Many of the recorded drug sales took place months ago, according to the indictment brought against the suspects.

Asked why the alleged sellers weren't immediately arrested, a law-enforcement source told Patch that investigators wanted to uncover possible links between the men, requiring the undercover identity of officers to be preserved for as long as possible.

The source also said additional drug purchases permitted suspects to be indicted on more serious charges related to the total quantity of drugs they sold.

In this case, the seven men arrested were not found to be coordinating their sales, the source said.

According to the DA's indictment, the arrested men are:

• Eben Barnes, 26, from Clinton Hill
• Keith Harding, 37, from Crown Heights
• Willie Moore, 58, from Clinton Hill
• Maurice Wright, 36, from Bed-Stuy
• Shane Lyons, 44, from Bed-Stuy
• Deyshaun Wigfall, 20, from Bed-Stuy
• Omar Abdelkader, 26, from Fort Hamilton

On Monday, Patch confirmed that two of the men are being represented by public defenders. Neither of their attorneys were immediately available for comment.

These alleged crimes took place in the NYPD's 88th Precinct. According to official police statistics, through May 15, major crimes were collectively down more than 16 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Top photo by Dimitris Kalogeropoylos/Flickr