In a joint operation between various law enforcement agencies, the seizure of more than 45 kilos of cocaine, crack, fentanyl, heroin and oxycodone with an estimated market value of US$4,000,000. This seizure took place at the Mexzzarella Pizza pizzeria, located in the Soundview area of the Bronx, New York.
Those arrested in this operation were identified as Gaudencio Rosendo Pérez, Zulema Cárdenas Espinoza and Alexander Samboy, all of Mexican descent.. According to the criminal complaint filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the defendants face serious charges, including Operating as a Major Trafficker and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino noted in a statement that this drug trafficking organization wasn’t just cooking pizzas in the Bronx. The large stash of cocaine found in the basement of Mexzzarella Pizza on October 19 is significant, since it had the potential to supply drug trafficking networks throughout the northeastern United States.
New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan highlighted the highly profitable nature of this Bronx-based narcotics operation. This operated as a wholesaler and distributor of cocaine and fentanyl-based products.under the facade of a pizzeria with Mexican ingredients.
Investigators recovered cocaine, crack and fentanyl in bags. Brennan emphasized the importance of continuing to work closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to curb the distribution of deadly drugs that claimed a record number of lives in the city last year.
More than 45 kilos of packaged drugs were ready to be distributed.
This was the police operation against drug wholesalers in New York
NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban, praised the success of the investigation, which resulted in the dismantling of the drug trafficking organization in the Bronx. The operation was triggered after agents and officers observed Pérez and Espinoza unlock and open the doors of the restaurant located at 553 Soundview Ave. Espinoza was seen taking a suspicious bag from the trunk of the blue sedan and taking it to Mexzzarella Pizza.
Later, Gaudencio Rosendo Pérez and Zulema Cárdenas Espinoza were seen driving a blue Hyundai sedan and parking right in front of a public elementary school. Surveillance teams later observed Alexander Francisco Samboy walking down Soundview Avenue with a backpack and entering Mexzzarella Pizza. The backpack appeared to be empty and very light based on the shape of the bag and the way Samboy was carrying it..
(We also recommend: The good news about employment for immigrants living in New York)
Shortly after, surveillance units observed Samboy leaving the location carrying the same black and blue backpack, but this time it appeared to be heavily loaded. Samboy walked to a silver Subaru Impreza with Connecticut plates and placed the backpack in the back seat.
Mobile surveillance units followed Samboy and a vehicle stop was conducted in front of 788 Metcalf Avenue. With the help of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police K-9 Unit, agents and officers recovered five kilograms of cocaine. The kilograms were wrapped in black tape with a blue and white label that said “R2.”
Surveillance units remaining at Mexzzarella Pizza observed Perez leave the pizzeria at 3:15 p.m., look up and down the block, and use his phone to film vehicles and license plates on Soundview Avenue. At that moment, The agents and officers approached Pérez and Espinoza, identified themselves and detained them.
Later, agents and officers conducted a search at Mexzzarella Pizzawhere they found 42 kilograms of suspected cocaine, one kilogram of heroin/fentanyl, 1,000 glass envelopes containing suspected oxycodone and fentanyl, large rocks of cocaine, a one-kilogram press, and approximately $40,000 in the basement.
Additionally, agents and officers recovered 100 wrappers of suspected rock cocaine and a yellow powder substance on the main floor. The drug packages were stored near the pizza counter to facilitate their sale or to provide samples to customers..
The magnitude of the opioid epidemic in the US
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 110,757 people died in the United States in 2022 due to drug overdoses and poisonings, and nearly 70 percent of those deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Meanwhile, 3,026 people died from overdoses in New York City in 2022 alone, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The CDC highlights a continued increase in the co-involvement of opioids in drug overdose deaths involving cocaine over time. The results showed that in 2021, 78.6 percent of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also involved an opioid.
#Latinorun #pizzeria #York #stored #millions #drugs
