According to reports, preliminary results indicate an NYPD detective fired the fatal shot in a failed undercover narcotics operation.
After the chaos on Vermilyea Avenue in Inwood on Friday night, one drug dealer was slain and another was expected to face federal charges.
The incident occurred during an undercover operation undertaken by a combined task team comprising of the NYPD, federal officials, state police, and others.
The two dealers, a 34-year-old male and a 22-year-old man, are thought to operate out of a first-floor apartment in the building, according to sources. Police were either meeting with or conducting a covert narcotics purchase from the two sellers.
A source described the two dealers as “important participants” in the city’s midlevel drug traffic. This was the second time that undercover detectives had made “buys” from them.
The shooting occurred at Inwood during an undercover operation.
NYPD/DCPI
However, things went wrong this time, and one of the suspects drew a pistol and fired fire.
The cops fired back, killing the 34-year-old suspect and sending others scurrying inside their flats in terror.
“My mother was present. A tenant who did not wish to be recognized stated, “She was in the hallway on the second floor when she heard a ruckus, followed by what sounded like firecracker-type gunshots.” “She shoved everyone into the flat, shut the door, and yelled for everyone to go. My grandma had fallen on the ground. She began contacting the neighbors. When the gunfire began, one of our neighbors was ready to enter the house.”
A source stated that the striking squad discovered two firearms and drugs. Two kilograms of white powder were discovered, and tests were being conducted to establish whether it was cocaine or fentanyl.
The incident occurred in Inwood on Vermilyea Avenue.
Alexander Sadowski
A number of recent fentanyl busts have occurred in the city. A Washington Heights man was arrested with over 20,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl tablets last week. And only days prior, in the Bronx, detectives discovered a $7 million hoard of the narcotic, along with heroin, hidden in a coffee table compartment.
When the epidemic began, the dealers had taken up residence outside the building, a resident told The Post.
“The men selling drugs outside were the primary concern in the building.” They are present day after day. “They are there when I take my son to school at 5:56 in the morning,” stated the resident.