New York police have arrested four people on drug charges in connection with the investigation into the apparent heroin overdose death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman,
ABC News reports.
The arrests were made a mile from Hoffman’s West Village apartment, where his body was found Sunday surrounded by dozens of bags of heroin and a needle in his arm.
Police received a tip that four people – three men and a woman – were dealing drugs out of a Lower Manhattan apartment. They served a search warrant and found more than 350 bags of heroin,
according to The New York Times.
Robert Vineberg, 57, and Thomas Cushman, 48, were both charged with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance, while two 22-year-olds, Max Rosenbloom and Juliana Luchkiw, face charges of criminal use of drug paraphernalia, criminal use of controlled substance, and unlawful possession of marijuana.
“The exact connection between the arrests and Hoffman’s death is unclear – and the heroin recovered during Tuesday’s raid did not include the “Ace of Spades” labels of the drug bags found in Hoffman’s apartment,” according to ABC.
The heroin found in Hoffman’s apartment also did not contain fentanyl, a synthetic morphine additive linked to 22 suspected fatal overdoses in western Pennsylvania. According to ABC, police are testing Hoffman’s heroin to measure its potency and see if it was laced with another additive.
Along with more than 50 bags of heroin inside Hoffman’s apartment, police recovered syringes, a charred spoon and prescription medications, including buprenorphine, which is used to treat heroin addiction.
Prescription blood pressure medication and muscle relaxers were also found.
Police sadi Hoffman withdrew $1,200 – via six transactions – from an ATM near his home the day before he died.
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