Community leaders working on the front lines of drug prevention in northern Westchester are applauding Tuesday's heroin raids.

Close to two dozen suspected drug dealers were arrested Tuesday. The FBI, along with the Westchester Drug Task Force, made the arrests following a yearlong investigation. Officials say about $1 million worth of drugs was seized, including heroin traced to recent overdose deaths in Montrose and Buchanan.

No one was happier to see the suspected drug dealers in handcuffs than Tricy Cushner, president of the board for the Alliance for Safe Kids. The Yorktown advocacy group tries to steer kids away from drugs.

"Unless you close your eyes, you know it's on the streets," she says. "The happiest day is when 20 more drug dealers are off the streets."

Cushner says she hopes any young adult who saw the suspects being hauled into jail gets the message she's been promoting for years: Bad things happen to those involved in the illegal drug trade.

She says the reason heroin is a big problem in northern Westchester is because heroin is so readily available.