Nassau’s assault on opioid epidemic continues, with 53 arrests

Fifty-three people were arrested on drug and other charges over the past week in Levittown, as Nassau County authorities cracked down on the third opioid hot spot this month, officials said Thursday.

The arrests represent the latest in the county’s assault against the deadly opioid scourge. Using new mapping technology that links pockets of drug overdoses with crimes typically committed by drug users, officials are flooding these communities with enforcement, drug treatment services and public awareness.

“Levittown is the quintessential suburb. Yes, it’s happening here,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran during a news conference in the community. “It knows no boundaries.”

Over the last year, there have been 62 overdoses in Levittown, including eight that were fatal. There were also 92 thefts from vehicles, a crime typically committed by drug users, officials said.

Forty of the arrests were directly drug-related, reflecting a mix of arrests for the use of opioids, cocaine, THC and marijuana, officials said. The nature of the other 13 were not immediately available.

Since the beginning of March, Nassau officials have announced three such crackdowns, the others coming in Massapequa and East Meadow.

“We’ve got our foot on the gas and we’re not taking it off,” said police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

Ryder said the program is already making a difference and that the number of overdoses has declined since January.

The targeted operations have been coupled with community education and input from residents. Officials say they will make announcements every two weeks regarding another drug hot spot that they’ve hit.

As the word has spread, police are receiving an increasing number of tips from residents, Ryder said.

In Levittown, they will hold a town hall meeting next Thursday at 7 p.m. at the firehouse at 120 Gardiners Ave.

Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas emphasized that the opioid epidemic has taken such a hold on this country, that the deaths from it have contributed to the lowering of the life expectancy in the United States.

“We need to do more,” Singas said. “If you are a drug dealer in this county, watch out. We’re coming for you.”

Officials stressed that drug dealers will go to jail, while drug users will be offered treatment.

In Massapequa, 59 people were arrested on heroin charges, including four alleged dealers.

Ryder credited the department’s new ODMAP technology, which allows police to do real-time analysis on overdose trends, comparing drug use with crimes typically committed by drug users — such as thefts from autos.

Last year there were about 600 fatal overdoses in Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to official projections. The final numbers are still being tallied.

In East Meadow, police had made 91 arrests, 78 of which were drug-related, including four alleged drug dealers, Nassau police officials said.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.