Police: 10 Arrested, $5 Million Worth Of Heroin Confiscated From Inwood Apartment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Officers this week busted a large heroin mill in a picturesque part of Upper Manhattan, police said Friday.
As WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported, the heroin mill was in full swing in an apartment in the building at 10 Park Terrace East in Inwood.
It was one of the last places one would expect to find such an operation, in a building overlooking a tranquil park called the Bruce Reynolds Garden. The park was named after a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer who was killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But this apartment was a world apart, police said. Windows were covered by towels and about five window air conditioner units were going, police said. The apartment was also wired up with counter-surveillance equipment, including cameras looking out to the street in front of the building and the front door, police said.
"The air was thick with heroin and a powdered layer coated the wall moldings and other surfaces in the apartment," police said.
A team of 30 detectives and agents stormed into the fourth-floor apartment while the suspects were allegedly in the middle of packing plastic bags with heroin, police said.
Many of the bags were piled in mounds already on top of a table, police said. Each bag has a street value of up to $10, police said.
Police arrested 10 mill workers at the scene and charged them with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia. They were identified as Gaspar Mendoza-Sanchez, 17; Manuel Rivera, 29; Jose Brito, 50; Freddy Rivera, 35; George Rivera, 29; Carlos Rivera, 32; Steve Mendoza, 23; Cortorreal Rivera, 24; Christopher Ortiz-Ocasta, 36; and Gittel Pichardo, 31.
Police seized 22 pounds of heroin worth $5 million and 150,000 glassine envelopes, the NYPD said. They further seized hundreds of stamps for labeling with an assortment of brand names, including "Income Tax," "Batman," "Superman," "Verizon," "Pepsi, "Red Bull," and "Mortal Kombat."
CBS2 was told at least one of the brands was recently sold on Long Island.
Police said they also found more than a dozen coffee grinders that were used to mix the heroin with diluting agents, as well as packaging material, scales, face masks, gloves, and business records.
The suspects had been set for arraignment Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court.