Prosecutors: Prescription Drug Trafficker Caught With Over 3,100 Pills In Westchester
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man bought thousands of prescription painkiller pills each week on New York City streets and sold them in eastern Massachusetts, making millions of dollars, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Jose Garcia Acosta is being held on $250,000 bail after his arraignment this week on drug-possession charges.
The 33-year-old had more than 3,100 painkiller pills, including 2,725 tablets of oxycodone, in a hidden compartment in his car's back seat when stopped Sunday on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester, the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office said.
Further investigation revealed those pills would've sold for more than $110,000.
Acosta's alleged driver, Vladimir Matos, and his sister, Wendy Matos Pineda, were also arrested. Officials said Pineda's 5-year-old son was also in the car at the time of the arrest.
Acosta allegedly made two to three trips per week to Massachusetts and sold 2,000 to 5,000 pills each time, netting about a $24 profit on each tablet, prosecutors said.
Investigators estimate Acosta sold up to $1 million in pills per month.
Meanwhile, Manhattan federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against one of Acosta's alleged suppliers and 13 other accused painkiller peddlers.
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