A Long Island Tribal Leader’s Son Is Arrested, Suspected of Drug Sales in Reservation Store
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., April 19 — For years, the Shinnecock Indian Outpost has been the face of the Shinnecock reservation, and its owner, Lance Gumbs, a familiar sight. Mr. Gumbs, a tribal leader, could often be seen in the store conducting tribal business by cellphone, while his son Awan, 26, ran the counter, selling tax-free cigarettes and American Indian gifts.
But according to the authorities, the son was also selling large quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana out of his father’s store to smaller dealers. Until his arrest on Thursday, he was one of the largest suppliers in a thriving Hamptons drug trade, said Thomas Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney.
“He was quite confident that on the reservation, selling drugs, he would not be detected,” Mr. Spota said.
Awan Gumbs was arrested in an early morning raid along with a dozen other people whom the authorities called associates in the ring. The charges included conspiracy, marijuana possession and weapons possession. Most of the people arrested, Mr. Spota said, were residents of the reservation on 800 acres west of the village of Southampton.
The authorities said that several other people arrested were members of the Bess family, also tribal leaders.
Mr. Spota said the investigation began in September after the tribe’s trustees contacted his office asking him to investigate heavy drug activity on the reservation. Mr. Spota and Maj. Walter Heesch, commander of Troop L of the state police, both said they did not know if the senior Mr. Gumbs, a tribal trustee and until earlier this month the board chairman, knew of his son’s involvement.
Approached on Thursday afternoon while in his store, Lance Gumbs said he could not comment “until I talk to the tribal trustees.”
The trustees released a statement saying that the board had requested the investigation. The statement added that the raid “touches every household and causes pain to us all.”
“Today, our people walk with tears in their eyes knowing that some members of our family will suffer, but hopeful that the scourge we have been living with is about to come to an end and our community restored to its natural beauty and balance,” the statement said.
Awan Gumbs lived at various places on the reservation, including his father’s home, but he had recently moved to nearby Hampton Bays, the authorities said.
Besides the district attorney’s office, the raid was conducted by the state police, the Suffolk Police and Sheriff’s Departments, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service. Officials said they had recovered bags of drugs, a small arsenal of weapons — including a loaded AK-47 — large stashes of cash and three luxury S.U.V.’s.
The guns, money and drugs were displayed on a table at a news conference Thursday afternoon at the state police barracks in Riverhead. The weapons included a shotgun decorated with leather fringe.
Mr. Spota said that the investigation relied heavily on phone taps and that it was one of the most extensive phone-tapping operations his office had ever conducted. Investigators listened in on one deal in which a member of the Bloods gang tried to buy a handgun, Mr. Spota said.
The ring sold roughly 12 kilograms of cocaine every two weeks, the authorities said.
Mr. Spota said that among those arrested was a law enforcement officer. Another officer was being questioned Thursday, he said. He refused to identify the arrested officer or provide any more details, aside from saying the arrest involved “drug activity.”
The arrest comes at a delicate time for the Shinnecocks. Tribal leaders have begun legal proceedings to try to open a casino in Hampton Bays, despite opposition from town and state officials. Their longstanding practice of selling tax-free cigarettes — the economic engine for the reservation — has also come under fire by some state officials.
