Pens Distributors on Long Island

Some vending machines that appeared on Long Island and were supposed to sell pens were distributing crack pipes.

At a press conference Monday, city officials in Brookhaven described how $ 2 a quarter could buy "a ceramic glass pipe" disguised as a crack smoking pen.

"You think you've seen it all," NPR Edward Roman, Brookhaven's supervisor, told NPR. "It's a new one on me."

Three machines were discovered – two near a Home Depot and one by a small shopping mall. They have since been kidnapped, said Romaine.

The machines were originally reported to authorities as distributors of pens, told reporters Councilman Michael Loguercio. "Many people had thought within the community, because it was the first week of school, that they were perhaps selling pens."

Then a firefighter tried a machine and found himself with a completely different object, and alerted the city authorities.

The installation of the machines required an 8-inch hole to dig and then filled with concrete, according to Romaine.

The machines were originally dispensers of tampons that had been ripped out of the bathrooms, he said.

"If that is the most serious crime on Long Island, I doubt it, but I hope the police would be careful because as minor as it sounds, it's rather shameless." "

Brookhaven, the most populous city in Suffolk County, is trying to combat opioid addiction, Loguercio said. But, he continued, crack is still prevalent in the community.

Authorities feel that because of similarities between vending machines, the same person or the same people may be at the origin of their installation.

It is not illegal to sell a pipe, said Loguercio, but these pipes are considered a drug paraphernalia and they were distributed from illegally installed machines.

Romaine said the district attorney would investigate but so far no suspects have been identified.