DA: Drug ring suspects printed money

An investigation into cocaine trafficking on the East End led Suffolk authorities to a major drug ring whose members printed counterfeit money and planned to pose as police officers, District Attorney Thomas Spota said Thursday.

Two guns seized as part of the investigation have been linked to unsolved shootings, Spota said at a Riverhead news conference announcing the arrests of 18 people.

Most of those charged pleaded not guilty Thursday in Suffolk County Court. Four others are to be arraigned Friday.

Members of the ring, who went by street names such as "Dog," "Guns," "Yay Yo" and "Smell," sold cocaine with an estimated street value of $20,000 each week throughout the East End and Brookhaven Town, Spota said. Five suspects belong to the Bloods street gang, authorities said.

"The lifeblood of gangs is the illicit narcotics trade," Spota said, adding, "The profits they generate contribute to other illegal activity," such as weapons trafficking.

The arrests and the seizure of about $16,000 to $18,000 worth of cocaine resulted from a five-month investigation by the East End Drug Task Force, a consortium of 12 federal, state, county, town and village law enforcement agencies.

The ring operated for several years, authorities said.

Police also seized several thousand dollars' worth of counterfeit $20 bills, black-and-white hats and T-shirts labeled "Police," and a stun gun disguised as a cell phone, authorities said.

Two handguns found as part of the probe were linked to shootings in the Mastic/Shirley area and Riverhead, Spota said. Those shootings are under investigation, he said.

Authorities believe members of the cocaine ring were sold bogus drugs shortly before they were arrested about two weeks ago, Spota said.

Ring members had used about $16,000 in counterfeit cash to purchase what they believed to be cocaine from dealers in New York City, Spota said. But when investigators seized the supposed cocaine, it turned out to be nothing more than baking soda and powder from Sheetrock, he said.

"While they thought they were ripping off the drug dealers in New York City, the people in New York City were ripping them off," Spota said.