Times Square crack cocaine bust, called '24-hour open-air bazaar'

NEW YORK - Six men are under arrest, accused of being involved in a ‘24-hour open-air bazaar’ of crack cocaine dealing in Times Square.

Johnny Perez, 37, of the Bronx, Aaron Starks, 36, of the Bronx, Sekou Simpson, of Brooklyn, Fred Johnson, 43, of Manhattan, Davon Mial, 32, of the Bronx, and Donnell Bruns, 42, of the Bronx, were arrested on Monday, said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss.   Frayvon Young, 34, of the Bronx, and Robert Mason, 39, of the Bronx, remained at large.

According to the indictment unsealed in federal court, the men operated in shifts around 43rd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan.  One ‘shift’ arrived in the late morning and made sales through the late afternoon, and then other defendants arrived and sold through the evening and nighttime.

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Undercover officers made multiple purchases from each defendant from December 2019- August 2021, the indictment alleges.  During a period of 11 days in March and April 2021, the defendants conducted more than 650 hand-to-hand sales, added Strauss.

"As alleged, the defendants operated a veritable 24-hour open-air bazaar for the sale of crack cocaine in Times Square.  We recall the bad old days of a much seedier Times Square that was unwelcoming, and we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those days remain just a memory," said Strauss.

Perez, Starks, Simpson, Johnson, Mial, Young, Mason, and Bruns were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 280 grams and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of crack cocaine.  That charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Cocaine seized from Times Square. (NYPD)

Items seized in Times Square in Manhattan. (NYPD photo)