A 28-year-old NYPD officer from West Islip was arrested with two others during a raid Tuesday for allegedly being part of drug dealing ring that could be linked to a fatal overdose.

According to police, Officer Joseph Recca was the middle man in the operation – purchasing potent painkillers from a supplier named Michael Sosa in Brentwood and then selling them to his neighborhood friend Michael Corbett – a street-level drug dealer.

Police raided Corbett's house and the homes of the other suspects Tuesday and allegedly found around 400 grams of oxycodone pills, as well as more than $70,000 in cash and a loaded 9 mm handgun with no serial number.

Authorities say Officer Recca had around 100 of those pills on him when he was arrested. In fact, they tell News 12 the drugs were hidden in a secret compartment in his car.

“We got them in the middle of their criminal act,” said District Attorney Tim Sini.

Sini says the pills are now being analyzed to see if they match the drugs used in a fatal overdose in Copiague in September 2019. That overdose triggered the investigation into Recca, according to Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart.

Officer Recca's father, Jim, told News 12 that he never imagined his son would wind up on the wrong side of the law.

“I'm shocked, just as much as everyone else,” he said.

If convicted, all three suspects could face up to 25 years behind bars. The NYPD says Officer Recca has been suspended from the force without pay.

The officer left court Wednesday without taking any questions. He was wearing an ankle monitor.