A group of alleged drug dealers, charged this week by New York police, would stop selling their wares on Shabbat.

The men, who were arrested in April for selling heroin and prescription painkillers from their Brooklyn base, reportedly alerted customers to their observance via text.

One message, sent on March 29 by dealer Eduard Sorin, 38, allegedly stated: [sic] “He said he can't do that but he can give you an 8 for 275 but its only gonna be tomorrow because he is closed for Shabbat. And the safe is locked.”

The five-month long police operation, code-named ‘Only After Sundown’, uncovered the strict nature of the gang’s observance, displayed in a text sent to 50 customers that reportedly read: “We are closing at 7:30 on the dot and we will reopen on Saturday at 8:15 so if u need anything you have 45 mins to get what you want.”

Among the substances allegedly seized from the group, whose members also included Jack Zibak, David Gerowitz, Jack Zaibak and Philip Mandel, were 900 packages of heroin and more than £292,000 worth of the synthetic opiate oxycodone.

The men were also charged with criminal possession of a weapon after being found with a sawn-off shotgun.