Four Suspected Drug Dealers Arrested in Connection to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death
The New York Police Department has confirmed that four suspected heroin dealers were arrested in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday over their connection to the death of actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
“Four people were arrested earlier this evening under suspicion of narcotics offences but whether they are connected to the Hoffman death or not is still under investigation and the case is still developing,” said NYPD detective Antonetti.
Earlier Tuesday, the NYPD’s detective Sessa said that there was “no truth” to the report on the New York Post website stating that a Manhattan address was raided on Tuesday after law enforcement officials received a tip that the dealer who sold heroin to Hoffman was there.
“More has been learned over the past few hours — hour by hour,” Antonetti later added. He said a “large quantity” of heroin was seized, but couldn’t confirm how much or whether the police were led there by a tip tied to Hoffman, as the New York Times and other outlets are now reporting.
According to the Post, officers found roughly 350 glassine envelopes that appeared to contain heroin in the raid. The report went on to state that cops were acting on a tip and obtained a search warrant for the raid, sources said. The suspects were being questioned and it could not be determined yet if they were actually Hoffman’s dealers.
The 46-year-old Capote star was found dead on the bathroom floor of his West Village home in New York on Sunday morning, with a needle sticking out of his left arm. According to reports, close to 50 envelopes of heroin were found in Hoffman’s apartment.
Hoffman had undergone treatment for drug addiction in the past and said last year that he had been clean for 23 years before “falling off the wagon” in 2012. In May, Hoffman entered a detox facility and completed a 10-day program for his use of prescription drugs and heroin.
Earlier on Tuesday police officials said that the heroin discovered in Hoffman’s apartment did not contain fentanyl, a dangerous additive that has been linked to 22 recent fatal drug overdoses in Pennsylvania. The New York medical examiner has not yet announced a definitive cause of death for Hoffman.