New York’s top law enforcement officials were joined by Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Police Chief Steven Krokoff in Albany on Tuesday to announce a major drug indictment.
The 11-month operation, code-named “Operation North Star,” resulted in a 226 count indictment of 31 defendants and the seizure of nearly 2 kilograms of cocaine with an approximate street value of $200,000 dollars, more than $100,000 dollars in cash, three vehicles, a bulletproof vest, and a hand gun that police say was to be used in an imminent murder.
26-year-old Andrew Smith, aka “My Boy,” “World Boss,” and “Gringo,” of Schenectady, was charged as a major trafficker, which carries a potential life sentence.
Police Chief Steven Krokoff said the bust represented not only a blow to the state’s drug traffickers, but was also a step towards solving the problem of gun violence on city streets.
“They use those guns indiscriminately. When they fire bullets, sometimes they hit their targets, sometimes they miss their targets, and sometimes they go through people’s living room windows,” he said.
“These people preyed on the community in which they lived, and it is a much better day in the city of Albany, particularly the West Hill, that we were able to take this group down.”
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General Tiffany Rutnik of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force. This is the second major drug indictment made by the task force in the last two months.
WAMC News Interns Matthew Dondiego and Eric Krupke contributed to this report.