16 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 19, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Flushing brothers face drug charges after
police uncover 10,000 pills, packaging tools
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A raid last week led to the arrest of
two brothers from Flushing who are
allegedly linked to a series of drug
sales across Queens, prosecutors
announced on Wednesday.
Mahmut Tashkent, 35, and Shaadil
Tashket, 31, were arrested on Oct. 6,
the day of the raid during which more
than 10,000 controlled substance pills
and over $140,000 in cash were recovered
from four diff erent locations.
Th e brothers face charges including
criminal sale of a controlled substance,
criminal possession of a controlled
substance and criminal use
of drug paraphernalia. If convicted,
Mahmut Tashkent faces up to 20 years
in prison; Shaadil Tashkent faces up
to nine years, according to Queens
District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
On Oct. 6, the NYPD’s Queens
South Gang Squad executed four
court-authorized warrants at an
upstate New York storage facility that
Mahmut Tashkent owns, along with
the defendants’ Flushing home and
their two vehicles, prosecutors said.
At the storage unit in Orange
County, authorities seized approximately
10,000 controlled substance
pills, a vacuum-sealing machine,
mailing envelopes and a digital scale.
Prosecutors allege Tashkent made
regular trips to the unit, which he
used to package the drugs for sale in
Queens.
In the apartment, police seized
$154,900 in cash, an imitation pistol,
a dagger and packaging materials.
In Mahmut Tashkent’s Toytoa,
police allegedly uncovered an empty
trap area. In Shaadil Tashkent’s
Mercedes Benz, police allegedly seized
two grams of cocaine.
In addition, prosecutors allege
Mahmut Tashket sold over 62,000
controlled substance pills containing
Alprazolam, the generic form of
Xanax, between Jan. 10 and Oct. 5.
In some cases, the pills also contained
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid
pain medication with a rapid onset.
Th e potent drug has been linked to
the recent spike in overdose deaths in
New York City and throughout the
nation.
Shaadil Tashkent is charged with
allegedly selling cocaine on three
occasions between July 27 and Oct. 6.
Th e investigation, which began in
January, included physical surveillance,
intercepted phone calls and
GPS-location reviews on the defendants’
cell phone, prosecutors said.
Shaadil Tashkent’s bail was set
at $200,000 bond/$150,000 cash.
Mahmut Tashkent is being held without
bail. Th e brothers will return to
court on Oct. 20.
“Th ese arrests should serve as a
warning to other drug dealers that the
law enforcement community will continue
to aggressively track down those
who traffi c in drugs and seek to put
them in prison,” Brown said.
Supreme Court Justice
Sotomayor talks life
lessons in Queens
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Students at a Flushing college had the unique
opportunity to ask a Supreme Court Justice questions
about law, learning and life at an assembly
this week.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
participated in an open forum with students at
Queens College on Oct. 16. Moderated by QC
President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, the special
event was part of the school’s 80th anniversary
celebrations.
Sotomayor told the dozens of students and faculty
gathered at the LeFrak Concert Hall that she
believes a liberal arts degree is “the most valuable
degree in the world.” Th e Justice herself
earned a bachelor of arts in 1976 from Princeton
University and took a chance on an Introduction
to Art course, which forever changed how she
appreciates painting.
“Liberal arts programs are supposed to expose
you to some things you don’t know anything
about,” the Bronx native said.
She encouraged students to take risks when
selecting courses — even signing up for classes in
which they might not easily succeed.
“We’re all living in this world together,” she
said. “Take the classes you think might scare you.”
In her role as Justice, which she has held since
August 2009, Sotomayor said she has learned that
personal feelings cannot be completely eliminated
from the process. She has, however, learned that
getting past her emotions begins with acknowledging
and processing them.
“A lot of the things we feel, a lot of the prejudices
we hold, are emotions that we don’t control
because we don’t recognize them,” Sotomayor
said. “And so, as a result, I think its very important
to be self-aware enough to recognize your
own biases, your own emotions, and to counter
them in an impartial way.”
Students also fielded questions about
Sotomayor’s memoir “My Beloved World,” stress
management techniques and the Justice’s roles as
a mentor. During the open forum, Sotomayor circulated
the room to meet, greet and take photos
with students in between questions.
Th e Justice asked students to encourage their
peers to register to vote and get involved in their
local and global communities.
“Th e worst thing in the world is to let life happen
to you,” Sotomayor said. “You have to care
about something within your world.”
Suspect fl ees the scene after
shooting a man in Springfi eld Gardens
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
Police are investigating
a shooting that took
place on Friday outside of a
Springfi eld Gardens home.
According to police, on
Oct. 13, a 21-year-old male
was shot twice in the leg by
an unknown assailant outside
of 186-21 140th Ave.
Th e victim says that he
heard the shots before realizing
he was hit.
Cops say that the suspect
then fl ed the scene in a silver
sedan. Th e victim was
taken to Jamaica Hospital in
stable condition.
ESU and offi cers from
the 113th Precinct responded
to the scene and recovered
shell casings. No arrests
have been made at this time.
Th e investigation is ongoing.
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor addresses the crowd at
Queens College.
Photo via Shutterstock
Photos by Robert Stridiron/RHS Breaking News Service
A man was shot on a Springfi eld Gardens street on Oct. 13.