Woman pleads guilty in Operation ‘Final Kut’ drug ring that plagued North Shore

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A 23-year-old woman on Monday became the latest defendant to admit guilt stemming from the takedown last year of a wide-ranging operation that peddled drugs in several North Shore communities.

Beatrice Adegbenro pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to two felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, along with one count of first-degree perjury to satisfy charges in three indictments.

Adegbenro admitted to selling cocaine on Nov. 16, 2016, and to peddling heroin five days later.

She also admitted to testifying falsely at a proceeding in which she swore to tell the truth in March 2017.

Adegbenro was among 15 suspects arrested in late June of last year after an 11-month investigation dubbed Operation “Final Kut.”

A number of the defendants have since pleaded guilty to drug or conspiracy charges.

Authorities said the suspects were part of a violent ring that sold heroin, fentanyl, suboxone (buprenorphine) and cocaine in and around New Brighton, West Brighton and Port Richmond.

The synthetic opioid fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than the heroin it is typically mixed with. However, some of the defendants sold straight fentanyl, prosecutors said.

One defendant, Stephen Cummings, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly selling a lethal dose of fentanyl to a 52-year-old victim in December 2016.

Cummings, 33, is mulling an offer that calls for him to plead guilty to the manslaughter charge and a felony drug-sale charge in exchange for a six-year prison sentence.

His case is pending in state Supreme Court, St. George.

Cummings was the first person charged with manslaughter in New York City for allegedly selling the illegal drugs that caused a victim’s fatal overdose.

In exchange for her pleas, Adegbenro will be sentenced Jan. 29 to three years in prison and two years’ post-release supervision for each drug conviction and to one to three years for the perjury conviction.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The defendant, who wore a gray hooded coat Monday, stood with her hands clasped behind her during the proceeding.

She made no statement beyond admitting guilt and responding to procedural questions.

She remains free on $10,000 bond.

Public records show most recent addresses in Mariners Harbor for Adegbenro.

Biju Koshy, her lawyer, declined comment on the case.

Assistant District Attorney Michele Molfetta is prosecuting it.