Cops Bust Brooklyn Candy Store Hiding Major Drug Operation

Police found huge quantities of heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, PCP and lidocaine, and other drug paraphernalia in the hidden rooms inside Gates Candy and Grocery.

This was not your typical candy store. Last week, cops discovered more than $100,000 worth of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs behind a hidden door in a Brooklyn candy store. They also found packaging and distribution supplies that led them to suspect the candy store was a front for a major drug-dealing operation, the NYPD reported.

Gates Candy & Grocery in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn drew the suspicion of local law enforcement after the State Finance Department stopped by last Wednesday to inspect them for untaxed cigarettes, the New York Daily News reported. Inspectors located a hidden door and alerted police, who returned the next day with a search warrant.

Behind the hidden door, investigators found three hidden rooms and a secret basement they believe was the center of a large-scale drug-dealing operation. “They had a pretty elaborate setup here,” Deputy Inspector Max Tolentino told the Daily News. In addition to huge quantities of heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, PCP and lidocaine, police found wholesale package supplies and other drug paraphernalia, including 1.2 million glassine envelopes which are generally used to distribute heroin.

“I just started seeing the police emptying out the store, a truck load of boxes, then another truck, not halfway but quarter way with bags sealed in evidence,” an anonymous neighbor told a local news source.

Because it’s 2016, the NYPD documented the entire drug bust on Twitter, including posting a photo of investigators in full hazmat garb with the caption: “Our version of #ghostbusters except they are at drug paraphernalia warehouse executing a warrant pictures 2 follow.” They also posted a photo of a truck brimming with boxes of drugs and paraphernalia. The bust lasted until early in the morning, according to the NYPD, who tweeted: “The work continued throughout the night.”

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the drug bust “reflects how significant that problem has once again become around that particular drug [heroin].” So far, two people, Mohamad Ali, 46, and Hamdan Alsaidi, 33, are facing charges of drug trafficking and drug possession. However, local news reported that the candy store was open for business again as of Friday morning.