Cops in the Bronx slapped the cuffs on two men after an undercover investigation led them to an illicit apartment stash containing 20 pounds of suspected heroin/fentanyl, Oxycodone pills and methamphetamine, as well as a gun, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Bridget Brennan, NYC’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, said the investigation involved two suspects, 56-year-old Carlos Torres of the Bronx and 66-year-old Martin Figueroa of Stamford, CT. Both defendants were arrested on July 12 and are facing a list of charges between them, including criminal sale of a controlled substance, possession and criminal possession of a weapon.
Some of the recovered drugs were found in packages stamped with playful names such as “Playboy” and “Tesla.”
“These arrests illustrate dangerous trends,” Brennan said. “Drug traffickers are simultaneously peddling many different dangerous substances, sometimes interchangeably, and buyers have no way of knowing what they are getting. The ‘Playboy’ and ‘Tesla’ stamps demonstrate another disturbing practice — attractive labels disguising potentially deadly substances.”
Agents and officers from the DEA’s New York division, the NYPD and the NYS Police —also known as Strike Force Group Z-43 — conducted the week-long investigation this month. It began, authorities said, when Torres allegedly engaged in “narcotics-related conversations” with an undercover officer from the team to arrange the sale of two kilograms — over four pounds — of cocaine.
An investigation into cocaine trafficking led the team to zero in on Torres and Figueroa. Officials said the agents closed in on the suspects on July 11 at around 5 p.m., when the undercover officer arrived at the agreed-upon meeting place at 1460 St. Lawrence Ave. in Parkchester.
When the officer arrived, authorities said Figueroa was allegedly standing on a nearby rooftop and threw a black bag down to Torres, who was standing in the yard of the address.
Torres then allegedly met with the undercover officer in a vehicle. It was then that officers from the law enforcement team apprehended the suspects and recovered the black back, which contained the discussed cocaine.
With the warrant in hand, cops searched the basement apartment at the address, where they found a bag that contained approximately seven kilograms — nearly 15 pounds — of suspected heroin/fentanyl, some of which was packaged in glassines labeled with the names “Playboy” and “Tesla,” authorities said.
Cops also found a bag of oxycodone pills in a filing cabinet located in the apartment’s living room, officials said. Lots of equipment and materials used in packaging the drugs were strewn about, including scales, glassine envelopes and razor blades.
Inside the apartment, officers also allegedly recovered a 9 mm pistol with an extended magazine, as well as more cocaine.
Edward Caban, NYPD police commissioner, said the investigation “without a doubt saved lives” by preventing the illegal drugs from being disseminated into neighborhood streets.
“Disrupting this packaging and distribution operation in the Bronx prevented deadly narcotics from reaching the streets and neighborhoods of New York City and, without a doubt, saved lives,” he said. “Stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our communities remains one of the top priorities of NYPD investigators and our invaluable law enforcement partners, and this fight will continue every day until all New Yorkers are safe.”
The results of DEA laboratory analysis on the seized drugs are pending.
The arraigning judge in Manhattan Criminal Court set bail for Torres at $750,000 cash or bond. Figueroa was released on his own recognizance.
