Heroin, Crack Dealers Busted At Fort Greene NYCHA Complex

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Authorities have collared 10 alleged drug dealers accused of pushing heroin and crack cocaine in a Fort Greene public housing complex, officials said Thursday. The "loosely affiliated" sellers made more than 70 sales around the Farragut Houses near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office said.

The alleged dealers face a combined 59 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, officials said.

"The arrests announced today will bring relief to residents of Farragut Houses, who believed their safety and security was jeopardized by open drug dealing within the complex," Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said in a statement.

The probe started in response to a spike in crime last year at the Farragut Houses that included shootings and complaints about drug trafficking and threats of violence, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office said. The development is home to more than 3,000 people living in 10 buildings.

The alleged dealers sold crack and heroin to undercover officers on dozens of occasions starting in November 2017, both within the Farragut Houses and in nearby businesses and surrounding areas, according to the prosecutor's office. They also allegedly arranged sales with buyers through phone calls and text messages, officials said.

The defendants — nine of whom are from Brooklyn, while one is from Queens — were indicted as a result of the long-term investigation by the NYPD's Brooklyn North Narcotics Major Case Squad, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office said.

Their arraignments in Manhattan Supreme Court started Wednesday and continued Thursday, the office said.

"Through receptive policing that addresses community concerns, and by leveraging our strong relationship with the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, we are removing drug dealers from our city’s streets and housing developments and preventing the violence that is so often associated with such criminal activity," Police Commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement.

(Lead image: The Farragut Houses are pictured in Brooklyn. Image from Google Maps)