YONKERS, NY — October 31, 2017 —Mayor Mike Spano and Police Commissioner Charles Gardner announced a series of arrests which took place yesterday throughout the City of Yonkers, targeting street level drug dealers and suppliers as a result of an intensive fourteen-month long investigation. ‘Operation Trick or Treat’ is a collaborative law enforcement effort between the Yonkers Police Department, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office
Members from our Department and our law enforcement partners began executing arrests beginning early yesterday morning, targeting thirty-one (31) offenders who have been the subject of this investigation. The majority of these arrests took place on the west side of our City. The defendants are facing felony charges of varying degrees of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance. During the investigation, under-cover officers were utilized, and large quantities of heroin, cocaine, crack-cocaine, and prescription pills were purchased from these street level drug dealers and suppliers.
‘Operation Trick or Treat’ is the second major heroin enforcement operation carried out since the Yonkers Police Department began the H.E.A.R.T. initiative in April of 2016. The H.E.A.R.T. initiative (Heroin Enforcement and Assistance Response Team) is designed to tackle the opioid crisis by focusing on a three prong approach: prevention & education, assistance, and enforcement.
Mayor Mike Spano stated, “I commend the great work of our Yonkers Police Department and our partnering agencies in law enforcement for their steadfast commitment in taking our streets back from the perils of drugs and drug addiction. We continue to work diligently to ensure our communities are rid of these offenders so we can provide for a safer city.”
Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner stated, “Due to the hard work and diligence of our Yonkers Police Officers and colleagues in law enforcement, these drug dealers have been removed from our communities and delivered into the Criminal Justice System. The Yonkers Police Department is committed to ensuring the safety of our residents and will continue to target those individuals who prey on our citizens.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge James Hunt stated, “Yesterday’s enforcement operation culminated a fourteen-month investigation that targeted narcotics related crimes and drug trafficking. Nobody wants drug dealers in their neighborhood and by arresting 25 dealers and suppliers, safety will be restored to the residents of the City of Yonkers.” SAC Hunt would like to thank all our partners in law enforcement.”
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. stated, “Drug dealers profit by planting seeds of addiction throughout our communities. The arrests of these individuals puts drug dealers in the City of Yonkers and, indeed, throughout the County of Westchester on notice that we will use whatever resources necessary to remove them from our streets and rid our communities of the poison they peddle.”
As of today, twenty-five (25) defendants have been apprehended with six (6) offenders still at large. The investigation is on-going and we anticipate additional arrests – see attached poster for details. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the outstanding offenders is encouraged to contact the Yonkers Police Department at (914) 377-7900 – all calls will remain confidential. 100% anonymous tips can be sent by texting the key word YPD plus the tip to 847411. Anonymous tips can also be sent to us directly through the Yonkers PD Tips app which can be downloaded for free to any Apple or Android device. Residents can also call 377-TIPS with information on heroin dealers or the location of heroin sales.
