Five New York men are accused in Alabama of giving drugs to homeless people in Connecticut to commit crimes

Five New York men are jailed in Alabama, accused of plying two homeless people from Connecticut with drugs and promising money to commit crimes in major cities across the state and beyond.

Leeds Police announced the arrests of the five men on Friday on charges of human trafficking. All five are being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.

The investigation began on September 4 when Leeds police were called to the Millennial Bank on Parkway Drive on a report of a man making fraudulent cash withdrawals using forged documents, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said.

When police arrived, the man fled but was apprehended after a short pursuit.

Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit discovered that the man worked under the supervision of three men from New York. The man was determined to be homeless and living in Hartford.

The suspects were identified as Jaylen Scott-King, 27, Omari Daeshaun Cunningham, 24, and Jeffrey Sajay Smith, 24.

Later in the investigation, and with the assistance of Homewood police, detectives determined that two more men from New York were involved in the operation and that they were directing a homeless woman, also from Hartford.

These suspects were Belvis Dapaah, 28, and Nana Gyapong, 26.

Irwin said the investigation revealed the two homeless people were transported by the suspects to the Southeast, including Alabama.

The pair entered numerous banks and made fraudulent withdrawals using fraudulent IDs and passports at the direction of Scott-King, Cunningham, Smith, Dapaah and Gyapong.

“These two homeless people were given a glut of illegal narcotics and promised a percentage of the illegally obtained money, which they never received,” Irwin said.

The crimes, including fraudulent recordings, occurred in Leeds, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Irondale, Birmingham, Pell City, Trussville, Anniston and Montgomery.

The investigation is still ongoing and police believe additional cities in Alabama were involved.

Dapaah and Cunningham were taken into custody along with the homeless woman on September 5, with the assistance of Homewood police.

Scott-King, Gyapong and Smith were taken into custody by the FBI after fleeing back to the Bronx.

Dapaah is charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking, trafficking in stolen identities and 12 counts of encrypted data fraud.

Cunningham is charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking, trafficking in stolen identities, obstruction of justice using a false identity, first-degree theft, 12 counts of encrypted data fraud and tampering with physical evidence.

Scott-King and Smith are charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking and two counts of first-degree theft.

Gyapong is charged with two counts of first-degree human trafficking.

The two homeless people received assistance to return to Connecticut. Police have not said whether they have been charged.

This investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.

Multiple agencies are investigating, including the Homewood, Hoover, Irondale and Vestavia Hills police departments, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Oxford Police Department’s East Metro Area Crime Center and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.