Six in Suffolk arrested in drug raid

Six Suffolk men were arrested on federal drug charges in an early morning sweep of homes in North Amityville and Copiague, officials said.

The FBI's Long Island Gang Task Force, which comprises several agencies, executed warrants early Monday and arrested Rashaan Corbin, 32, Charles Hickson, 35, Terrance Mason, 30, Curtis Sherrar, 30, and Rhamel Stanford, 24, all of North Amityville, and Fausto Cruz, 41, of Copiague, officials said.

The six men were all arraigned on various drug charges for offenses that the U.S. attorney's office said occurred over several months or years in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.

The defendants' attorneys could not be reached for comment.

"The arrests are a part of the continued efforts of the FBI's Long Island Gang Task Force in cooperation with Suffolk Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, New York State Parole, and the Suffolk County Probation Department in attacking the ongoing gang problem in that area," said Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Richard Kolko. "And we are not done, these efforts will continue to identify, arrest and prosecute violent gang members."

Koloko said the collars bring to 40 the number of arrests made recently by the task force in the area. It was created in 2004 to tackle gang-related violent crime.

"These arrests represent the continued success of the Long Island Gang Task Force working together to make our communities safer," said senior supervisory resident agent Michael Ferrandino. "However, we know our work will not be complete until the violent activities that these gangs are carrying out on our streets are stopped."