11 indicted in Suffolk cocaine trafficking ring bust

A cocaine ring prosecutors say stretched from Bay Shore to Mastic Beach ended with 11 indictments after a long undercover probe that also turned up guns, cash and drug sales near Mary G. Clarkson Elementary School in Bay Shore. Suffolk authorities say the case shows a coordinated supply chain moving through several neighborhoods, not a one-off street sale.

The investigation began in December 2024 and continued through undercover buys that lasted into October 2025. Prosecutors say Jonathan Sands, 33, of Middle Island, sold cocaine on multiple occasions, and that Mario Tarquinio, 40, of Farmingville, joined him on two of those deals. Investigators say the sales also included prescription pills such as amphetamine, alprazolam and buprenorphine, underscoring that the alleged operation moved more than one kind of controlled substance.

Authorities identified the other defendants as Likina Edwards, 32, of Holbrook; Andrew Trotman, 42, of Mastic Beach; Ralph Elliott, 53, of Bellport; Desean Elliott, 32, of East Islip; Celine Crawford, 30, of Brentwood; Lenroy Stewartson, 45, of Bay Shore; Lyncoln Clarke, 24, of Bay Shore; and Stanley Strider, 52, of Manorville. Prosecutors described the case as a layered distribution ring, with Stewartson treated as a major supplier, Ralph Elliott as another supplier in the network, Crawford allegedly running product for Edwards and Clarke allegedly running product for Stewartson.

Search warrants executed between November 2025 and April 2026 reportedly exposed how far the operation had spread. At Stewartson’s Bay Shore residence, investigators allegedly found two loaded firearms, roughly eight ounces of cocaine and $13,800 in cash. That address was described as being next to Mary G. Clarkson Elementary School, giving the case a sharp public-safety edge for families in the area. A search of Ralph Elliott’s Bellport home reportedly yielded cocaine, crack cocaine, a loaded .40-caliber Taurus semiautomatic, jewelry and more than $24,000 in cash. Across multiple homes, investigators said they recovered nearly $50,000.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Police led the investigation. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said traffickers flooding the county with poisonous substances would be found and held accountable, while State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said the defendants had no regard for the danger they posed to the community. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the case removed nearly a dozen dangerous drug dealers from local neighborhoods.

The indictment fits a broader Suffolk pattern in which narcotics cases have been paired with firearms seizures and long-running undercover work. On Long Island, where drug corridors often cross town lines rather than staying contained inside one neighborhood, this case looks less like a new trafficking map than a large and more organized version of an existing threat.