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Read the press release here.

Inwood Drug Kingpin Taken Down in Interstate Bust, Authorities Say

By Carla Zanoni | March 29, 2012 5:43pm
Inwood native Anthony Lugo, 37, was arrested for allegedly heading up an interstate drug and gang ring.
Inwood native Anthony Lugo, 37, was arrested for allegedly heading up an interstate drug and gang ring.
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Office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman

INWOOD — The kingpin of a major interstate drug operation was taken down in Inwood Tuesday morning as police swept up more than 50 alleged members along the East Coast. 

The suspects, who allegedly include members of the Bloods street gang, Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang and the Albany-based Original Gangsta Killas, are accused of funneling cocaine, heroin and prescription drugs to dealers throughout the state and Vermont in the 261-count indictment. 

Investigators used wiretaps and video surveillance to gather evidence against the 52 ring members who are allegedly tied to 27 shootings, three murders and two police shootings in Albany.

Inwood local Anthony Lugo, 37, was picked up on Seaman Avenue after being under surveillance for six months by investigators from state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office.  

Anthony Lugo is listed as the head of a 52-person drug and gang network that sold drugs throughout New York State and Vermont.
Anthony Lugo is listed as the head of a 52-person drug and gang network that sold drugs throughout New York State and Vermont.
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Office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman

Lugo and four others were charged with operating as a major trafficker, which carries a potential lifetime prison sentence. Other suspects were charged with a variety of offenses, including criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy in the second degree.

Lugo is charged with leading the ring that funneled drugs through the city to the Albany region, as well as Greene, Orange, Rockland, Ulster and Warren counties in New York, and into Vermont. 

According to the indictment, Lugo, who went by the nickname "Ant," would sell cocaine and heroin from Manhattan to his partners Haneef Washington, Michael Williams, Guy Anderson and others, who would then re-sell the drugs through a network of dealers and gang members. 

The attorney general’s office called it the largest bust in the history of the office. 

"This investigation has shut down a major network of gang members responsible for the sale of illegal drugs and possession of dangerous weapons in our neighborhoods,” Schneiderman said in a statement.