WILLIAMSBURG — About two-dozen drug dealers used a South 4th Street barbershop as a safe house for heroin and cocaine, then peddled the poison across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Police have arrested 22 suspects who they say were involved in a six-month-long conspiracy to sell and possess narcotics, using L&L Barber Shop at South 4th and Keap streets as their headquarters, prosecutors said.
“These drugs often cause deadly addiction and bring even more deadly violence,” NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said. “Today, Williamsburg is a little bit safer.”
The group at times made up to 40 deals a day, according to the DA. Fifteen of those sales occurred within steps of neighborhood public schools, including P.S. 120 on Beaver Street and P.S. 287 on Navy Street. Customers typically arranged to meet the dealers through phone calls and text messages.
The investigation began following complaints from locals about drug activity and a shooting in front of 417 Lorimer St. nearby, prosecutors said.
The defendants, who range in age from 16 to 46, are charged with criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance and criminal sale of marijuana.
“Drug dealers peddle poison that kills our neighbors, degrades our communities and leads to violence,” Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson said. “I have no tolerance for these activities, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute these important cases.”
