Authorities on the East End busted nine men for allegedly buying and selling “Hollywood” heroin—an especially potent and costlier brand of the addictive drug that was blamed for several non-fatal overdoses three years ago, Suffolk County prosecutors said.
The men suspected of dealing the drug marketed it along Route 58 in Riverhead, where they sold “Hollywood”-stamped doses for premium price, according to District Attorney Thomas Spota. He said East End Drug Task Force detectives went undercover to buy heroin from suspected dealers and used confidential informants and wiretaps to build their case.
Three of the men live in Harlem and the other six reside on Long Island, officials said. The men rounded up in the bust were identified as Leroy Langhorne, Leon Langhorne, Jerome Trent, Farrow Sims, Joseph Thomas, Robert Baker, Jose Calvente, Jose Morales and Carlos Ramos.
The alleged dealers would travel to New York City, where the heroin distribution network is based, Spota said, and would buy the “Hollywood”-stamped heroin and return to eastern LI with “sleeves of heroin.”
Local dealers would charge up 50 to 100 percent more than regular street heroin, which typically costs as much as $10 a bag, Spota said.
The alleged drug deals occurred in the parking lot of retailers along Route 58: Walmart, Home Depot, an outlet mall and even gas stations, among other spots, authorities said.
Investigators also found evidence of this specific heroin, which was first discovered in the twin forks in 2011, in Southampton, Quogue, Sag Harbor, Miller Place, Rocky Point and Ronkonkoma.
