Prosecutors: $4 Million Of Heroin Seized From Bronx Mill, Vehicle In Yonkers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Investigators seized $4 million worth of heroin from a packaging mill in the Bronx and a vehicle in Yonkers this week, authorities said Thursday.
On Wednesday, members of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force Group T-21 and the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Investigators Unit were conducting surveillance near a six-story building at 1678 Nelson Ave. in the Bronx, as part of an ongoing investigation, prosecutors said.
Around 11:30 a.m., they saw someone walk out of the building carrying a gray backpack and get into a black Jeep, prosecutors said. Members of the T-21 followed the Jeep to a parking lot at the Cross County Shopping Center at 8000 Mall Walk in Yonkers, prosecutors said. They saw the person meet with another man identified as Marvin Rosa, who got into the passenger seat of the Jeep and got out a short time afterward with the gray backpack, prosecutors said.
Rosa put the backpack into the trunk of a silver Ford Focus with Pennsylvania license plates, while Rosa joined another defendant identified as Cheyenne Baker and briefly entered the shopping center building before returning to the vehicle and driving off, prosecutors aid. A DEA agent pulled over the Ford Focus near 35 Vredenbugh Ave. and searched the trunk, finding the backpack, prosecutors said.
Inside the backpack were about 10,000 glassine envelopes of heroin branded with the stamp "7up," prosecutors said. Rosa and Baker were arrested at the scene, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile back at the Nelson Avenue building, investigators continued their surveillance, prosecutors said. At 5:40 p.m., they saw another defendant, Luis Amador, walk out with an orange bag, prosecutors said.
Officers and agents came up to Apartment 5C at the building and saw two more defendants, Jose Genao and Carlos Soto, trying to close the door, prosecutors said. The apartment appeared to contain an active heroin packaging mill, prosecutors said.
Several others were also in the apartment and fled through a rear window and the fire escape, prosecutors said.
The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the Nelson Avenue apartment, and officers and investigators conducted a search around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, prosecutors said. They fond about 16 kilograms of what appeared to be heroin – 1o kilograms in powder form, a packaged kilogram, and about 6 kilograms in individual glassine envelopes wrapped in paper, prosecutors said.
Agents also found packaging materials and paraphernalia, including ink stamps, grinders, electronic scales and hundreds of empty glassine envelopes, prosecutors said.
