SHINNECOCK DRUG, WEAPONS BUST SHOCKER

Loaded handguns. Rifles. Shotguns. Heroin. Crack cocaine. Stolen property.

The massive amount of evidence crowding the table at the New York
State Police barracks in Riverhead last week was a staggering
testament to a pre-dawn raid on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation
raid in Southampton last Thursday that resulted in what officials say
is one of the "most extensive wiretap" investigations in the history
of Suffolk County.

The early morning raid resulted in 14 arrests, including eight
residents of the Shinnecock Nation. Arrested after being identified
as the primary supplier of cocaine to the reservation and surrounding
area was [redacted]. Also arrested was a law enforcement official.

According to Major Walter Heesch, Troop L Commander of the New York
State Police New York City corrections officer Gary Morton of Queens
was arrested last Friday by state police.

Morton was identified as one of those selling drugs on the Shinnecock
Indian Reservation in the early stages of the seven-month wiretap
investigation.

The bust resulted in the arrest of major suppliers of drugs to the
East End, said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota,
individuals responsible for trafficking "12 or more kilos of
narcotics on a two-week basis."

Two suppliers of large quantities of cocaine to [redacted]. were
identified as [redacted], both of whom were arrested after search
warrants were conducted at their residences.

According to Spota, the narcotics investigation was sparked after he
received a letter in May from the Shinnecock trustees, asking for
assistance with "serious matters" that were "impacting their quality
of life" on the reservation.

"The people of the Shinnecock Indian Nation have repeatedly asked its
leadership to take action against possible criminal activities on our
lands, which threaten our way of life," wrote the Shinnecock Nation
Board of Trustees in a statement after the raid. "The board of
trustees stands with the Nation in its resolute determination to
provide a safe, drug-free and crime-free environment for our children
to grow and develop, for their parents to live in peace and for our
elders to enjoy the fruits of their lifetime labors. We asked for the
assistance of outside law enforcement agencies to help us accomplish
these important goals."

What resulted was a joint effort of the New York State police,
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, the Suffolk County Police
Department, the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department, the DEA, Secret
Service, and the Suffolk County Probation Department that resulted in
the execution of nine court-ordered search warrants, five of those on
the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. The raid was the "largest
coordinated law enforcement" effort in Suffolk County history,
involving 120 state police officers, mobile response teams, and state
police helicopters.

Some of the narcotics sales conducted by [redacted], took place
inside his father's place of business, the [redacted].

The bust, said Spota, resulted in the "dismantling of a major
narcotics distribution network. There was blatant and open drug
dealing and gun possession on the reservation."

Added one official, "The level of drug activity and firearms was alarming."

Although he did not give actual numbers regarding the level of gun
and drug activity involved, Spota said, "This operation was massive."

During the wiretap investigation, one deadly incident was averted
when investigators heard a member of the Bloods gang calling from
Brooklyn in an attempt to purchase handguns with the intention of
committing a murder.

The call was intercepted and the subject was arrested. Spota assured
that the incident was isolated and there is no evidence of other gang
activity being investigated.

And, added the district attorney, although his son was arrested,
Lance Gumbs is not under investigation.

Thursday's raid was a unified effort, said Suffolk County Sheriff
Vincent DeMarco. "The amount of guns was absolutely stunning." Law
enforcement, he added, is "not easy work," with officers taking their
lives in their hands to protect the public.

The raid, officials said, was done in a "magnificent, swift" manner,
with no gunfire.

The law enforcement official arrested, New York City Corrections
Officer Gary Morton, 25, of Jamaica, who worked at Rikers Island, was
arrested by state police investigators conducting the investigation
for conspiracy in the second degree.

Morton, a member of the Shinnecock Tribe, assisted [redacted], who
was arrested in the raid with the sale of heroin on the reservation.
[redacted] was allegedly the main source of supply for heroin on the
reservation; the [redacted] would also supply heroin to customers in
the surrounding area. According to the New York State police, if
[redacted] was unable to conduct drug sales, he would contact
[redacted]., who would complete the transaction.

At last week's press conference, officials indicated that another
member of law enforcement was being questioned. No arrests were made,
however. A New York Post article reported that a Southampton Village
Police Department officer resigned after the raid. When asked whether
the alleged resignation was related to the bust, Southampton Village
Mayor Mark Epley said, "It's an employment issue. I'm not going to
respond right now."

"Today, our people walk with tears in their eyes knowing that some
members of our Family will suffer, but hopeful that the scourge we
have been living with is about to come to an end, our community
restored to its natural beauty and balance," wrote the Shinnecock
Nation Board of Trustees.

"Today the Shinnecock Reservation is a much safer place," said Spota.