Eleven suspected drug dealers are off the streets of Crown Heights and behind bars, the Brooklyn district attorney announced Thursday.
DA Charles Hynes said the arrests are part of an almost yearlong sting called "Operation Crown Strike." Hynes said the investigation started last summer when community leaders contacted authorities complaining about drug dealing.
The DA's office will use undercover surveillance video of alleged dealers weighing cocaine to prosecute the suspects. Prosecutors also said drugs, weapons and drug paraphernalia were confiscated during the arrests.
Residents say while drugs remain a problem in the neighborhood, the situation is not as bad as it was 15 years ago. They remember a time when drug dealing was done out in the open.
The suspects face charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy. If convicted, they could serve up to 25 years in prison.