On Wednesday, prosecutors arrested nine suspected drug dealers for allegedly selling psychedelic mushrooms and crack cocaine to NYPD officers in an undercover operation at a brazen open-air market in Washington Square Park. announced that it had been done.
The suspects were arrested in various locations over the past six weeks and are suspected of making more than a dozen sales to undercover police officers during a months-long crackdown, according to the city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office.
The large number of arrests comes after The Post first revealed last July that drug dealers were overtaking a popular West Village park and peddling psilocybin shrooms and cocaine from makeshift stalls in broad daylight. woke up.
The majority of suspected dealers arrested in recent weeks are connected to “loosely affiliated street crews” who work afternoon and evening shifts to sell psychedelics, cocaine and crack cocaine in and around the park. , prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, the undercover investigation began in July 2023 (the same month as the paper’s revelations) following complaints from local residents about open drug activity in the park.
At the time, the Post witnessed dealers posing as art dealers and selling mushrooms and weed under tables. But there were others who were more brazen. One of them yelled, “I got mushrooms, 1/8 for $40!” in front of shocked park users.
“The purpose of this investigation, which began in response to community complaints about rampant drug trafficking in Washington Square Park, is to ensure that this public recreational space can be enjoyed as it was intended, and to ensure that the people who live in the vicinity “It’s about making sure people can enjoy and feel comfortable in their neighborhoods,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said in a statement.
Jordan Gill, 26, lives in Brooklyn. O’Malley Harris, 25, lives in Brooklyn. Donald Mack, 33, of Hempstead. Elisha Rodger, 21, Queens. Kimberly Scales, 44, lives in New York. Nazir Washington, 20, resident of the Bronx. Victor Whaley, 33, of the Bronx, was charged with various counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third and fifth degrees.
They were all subsequently arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, two other suspects, Joshua Dunlap, 39, and James Cooney, 21, both of the Bronx, were each charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Psilocybin is a Schedule 1 drug in the Empire State, and drug dealers can face felony charges for selling one gram of the drug. Until age 25 In prison.
“Improving the quality of life in every New York City neighborhood is essential to the NYPD’s public safety mission, and the patrons of Washington Square Park refused to allow this beautiful square to become an open-air drug market. We understand this fact,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban.
“These arrests signify the revitalization of a historic area that has long provided New Yorkers with a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city,” he said. “I commend the dedication of all NYPD investigators and the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office to this important case.”
Washington Square Park, a haven for tourists and New York University students, has become a hotbed of drug use and disorder during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
