Wading River Man Among Five Accused in Multi-Million Drug Smuggling Ring
Suffolk County district attorney, Tim Sini (D), announced three people in Suffolk and two from New Jersey were indicted in an alleged multimillion dollar drug trafficking ring, with officials saying they seized over a million in cash, 19 kilograms of drugs and numerous guns during the takedown.
Sini announced in a press release that James Sosa, 25, of Wading River, Anthony Leonardi, 46, of Coram, and Brian Sullivan, 24, of Lake Grove, and two other individuals from New Jersey allegedly helped purchase and ferry narcotics, including cocaine and heroin, from the West Coast to Long Island partially during the pandemic. The group used residential homes in Lake Grove, Wading River, Port Jefferson Station, Coram, Selden and Brentwood, the DA said.
Sini worked with Suffolk County Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
“The magnitude of this drug distribution ring is enormous; they were responsible for peddling millions of dollars in narcotics on an almost weekly basis,” Sini said in the release. “Not only did this organization continue their illicit operation during the coronavirus pandemic, they were also exploiting the limited availability of certain narcotics during the health crisis to generate even greater profits off their sales.”
The DA, Suffolk police and DEA launched the investigation in May 2019 investigating Sosa, Sullivan and their associates. The group allegedly used multiple methods to get the drugs to the East Coast, including cross-country trips in vehicles and airplanes and even through the mail. Police executed warrants June 27 at locations within the six hamlets, which the DA said resulted in seizing 16 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of heroin, about $1.5 million in cash, around 4,000 oxycodone pills, nine firearms, along with “numerous luxury vehicles” and equipment the DA said is used for packaging and selling drugs. The police had also seized an additional kilogram of cocaine earlier in the investigation. The cocaine had an estimated street value of $1.6 million and the heroin was worth about $520,000.
Dashawn Jones, 33, of Passaic, New Jersey, was charged with allegedly operating as a major trafficker and first-degree drug possession. Anthony Cyntje, 22, also of Passaic, was charged with first-degree drug possession and was described as being employed as a correction officer in New Jersey.
“This investigation exemplifies how drug traffickers have been impacted by the coronavirus; adapting smuggling methods, transportation routes and money laundering operations to maintain security and social distancing,” said Ray Donovan, New York DEA special agent in charge.
Sosa, who was charged with two counts as a major trafficker, among other counts, was arraigned June 28 with bail set from $7.5 million cash or bond. Sosa’s attorney, Glenn Obedin, a criminal defense lawyer in Central Islip, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sosa, Sullivan and Jones each face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top counts, Leonardi 12 1/2 to 25 years and Cyntje 8 1/3 to 25 years, Sini said.