Forty-six people, aged 17 to 63, were arrested yesterday on drugs charges as part of a seven month sting operation at the LeFrak City housing complex in Queens. In a release [pdf], the Queens DA's office alleges that many of the drugs—which included cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and prescription medication—were distributed at a licensed day care center in LeFrak city. Note to drug dealers: using day care centers to store drugs is passé.
One of the defendants, Eugene Griffin, a TLC lieutenant inspector, allegedly released "a pit bull, whose vocal cords apparently had been altered to prevent the animal from barking" on police as they were executing a search warrant of his apartment. "The dog attacked one of the detectives, tearing through his pants and biting him on the right knee," and the officer required seven stitches and rabies testing.
LeFrak City is one of the largest privately owned apartment complexes in the country, consisting of 5,000 apartments in 20 18-story buildings. In executing the warrants, police found seven pounds of marijuana, two pounds of cocaine, crack cocaine, over 3,600 pills, $3,400 in cash and a handgun. Commissioner Kelly said in the release, "“When they used a day care center from which to sell drugs, dealers set a new record for how low they can go." Hey, at least the NYPD didn't have to magically "find" anything there!
