QUEENS, NEW YORK – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the successful conclusion of a 15-month investigation into a family-run drug trafficking ring. This extensive operation spanned from Jamaica, Queens to Suffolk and Westchester Counties, involving 11 defendants, several of whom are related.
The undercover operation featured drug purchases in a Jamaica park and wiretaps on the defendants’ phones. Law enforcement executed search warrants at seven residences and three vehicles, leading to significant seizures: one and a half kilograms of heroin laced with fentanyl, over 10,000 glassines of heroin, four kilograms of cocaine, more than 250 vials of crack cocaine, eight firearms including an assault weapon, and $140,587 in cash.
District Attorney Katz emphasized the commitment to eliminating drug and gun crimes, thanking the NYPD, Yonkers and Suffolk County Police Departments, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their collaboration.
Six defendants were arraigned in Supreme Court on December 7, and five more in Criminal Court on December 6. The investigation, named “On The Mark,” centered on Major Mark Park on Hillside Avenue. It involved 26 undercover buys of heroin and cocaine, all containing fentanyl, with a street value of $4,030.
Key figures in the operation include James “Pops” Andrews, who supplied heroin and cocaine, his brothers Taron “T-Black” Samuels and Dijon “D-Black” Andrews, his wife Rose Andrews, girlfriend Tanta Jones, and associate Anton Johnson. Yemi Blair, the primary cocaine supplier, and Robert Luis Marte-Florencio, who delivered heroin and fentanyl to Andrews, were also implicated. Marcus “TI” Kelly was identified as controlling drug sales in the park.