Rapper Neno Best named in one of the biggest drug busts in NYC history

This week, the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg announced what they called the largest gun bust in New York City history, including the seizure of 254 firearms and the arrest of nineteen people in a 552-count indictment. Although Brooklyn's Matthew "Neno" Best was charged with just one count of conspiracy, he earned a shout-out at the press conference for allegedly selling guns out of his "makeshift" Ocean Hill recording studio and bragging about the crimes on Instagram. His social-media presence, investigators said, led them to the man accused of being at the center of the gun-smuggling ring, Omole Adedji. But Best left behind quite the Internet trail, which shows he was not exactly excelling at his other chosen craft.

As the rapper Neno Best, he put out two mixtapes still available on DatPiff, Need No Introduction (149 listens) and Zombie Island (175 listens).

On Facebook (bio: "every thing i say is real and from the heart"), Best's page had just 51 "likes," and now features some disappointed fans:

Nineteen people were arrested and 254 guns recovered in what Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly are calling the largest gun seizure in New York City history. "There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives," said Bloomberg this morning at the press conference, using the photo op to plug the police department's controversial stop-and-frisk tactics. In this case, it wasn't street stops but buys made by an undercover NYPD officer — 45 over the last year — that led to the 552-count indictment for illegal sales totaling nearly $160,000.

The weapons coming from North and South Carolina to the city included .22-caliber pistols and seven assault weapons, such as a "full automatic Cobray 9mm machine gun with a 30-round high-capacity magazine, three Intertec 9 assault pistols with flash suppressors and high-capacity magazines holding 30 or more rounds, a SCCY Industries 9mm handgun and a Norinco SKS 7.62 x 39 mm assault rifle," according to the city. The haul looks something like this:

Among the defendants are 26-year-old Brooklyn man and aspiring rapper Matthew Best, who conducted deals at an Oceal Hill recording studio, and Earl Campbell, of South Carolina, who brought guns to the city via Chinatown bus. The full indictment contains some creative nicknames for the accused:

Investigators also stumbled upon his YouTube and Instagram accounts only to find him bragging about his unlawful business with his friend Omole Adedji.
According to the New York Post, the weapons were displayed proudly on tables draped in blue tablecloths during a press conference held by Mayor Bloomberg. Police noted that 36 of the guns had previously been reported stolen.

A lot of people are hesitant to even include alcohol in their Instagram pictures, but Brooklyn-based rapper Matthew “Neno” Best isn’t afraid to filter anything, including images of illegal firearms and the stacks of cash he made selling them. The result was more than just 48+ likes (nice!), but the largest firearms bust in the Gotham’s history.
It’s unclear how the NYPD took note of the wannabe rapper’s illicit photos (while his Instagram has since been deactivated, his Facebook page only has 71 likes), but following their crack investigative work, they sent cops undercover and witnessed the rapper and his cohorts engage in firearms sales.
As a result, The NYPD arrested 19 people, including the rapper, and obtained 254 firearms, according to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Boasting and hip hop go hand in hand, but in the case of Neno Best, it backfired in a major way. As you may have heard, NYPD picked up the rapper on Monday and called his arrest one of the biggest gun busts in NYC history after catching wind of his (now inactive) Instagram account that boasted of money, guns and much more. In all, the arrest netted more than 250 firearms, some of which were reported stolen. Best was part of a sting that netted the arrest of nineteen in total:

Those busted included two gun runners who oversaw the pair of loosely organized rings and sold their illicit goods through the same city dealer, officials said. One of the men, Walter Walker, used a rap studio at 1991 Atlantic Ave. in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn as his home base in the city. The undercover police operation had been dubbed "Up on the Hill.''
...[NYPD Commissioner Ray] Kelly also said that last year "detectives learned through an unrelated undercover narcotics investigation that guns were being sold in the Ocean Hill community of Brooklyn."
Above the Country Kitchen restaurant on Atlantic and Saratoga avenues, within the 81st Precinct, they discovered a 26-year-old aspiring rapper, Mathew Best, who lived on Saratoga Avenue. He also used a unit in the same building as a recording studio. -[NY Post]