It’s A Bust: East End Reservation Site Of Illegal Drugs and Weapons Operation

When most of us think of Indian reservations we (stereotypically) think of lands allocated to casinos and recreation. But, it seems that one located at the east –end of Long Island was offering a very different time of recreational pass time.

In fact, authorities raided the Southampton reservation and dismantled a huge drug distribution network. And, among those arrested the son of a tribal trustee.

In addition to the arrests, police seized four vehicles, eight handguns, eight rifles, eight shotguns and nearly $2,000 in cash; as well as marijuana, heroin, crack some drug apparatus, and a computer and flat screen monitor.

This was all a result of an investigation that started back in September at the request of the Trustees of the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.

And, while the foray involved the delivery of nine search warrants, five on the reservation and four at other locations including some in eastern Brookhaven and the East End, officials would not confirm the exact amount of arrest made of drugs seized and retrieved.

The reservation, considered tribal land remains self-governed and is typically not patrolled by state and local police. In fact, they have to ask permission before conducting any operations on the property, but whether of not they had permission for the recent raid remains unclear.

Also, the Shinnecock Reservation does have its own tribal security but again, it’s unclear as to whether they were notified of state and local involvement, though some suggest they were not. And, some storeowners (on the reservation) are noted as suggesting that the raid was a violation of rules and officials were trespassing on private property.