NYPD announces $10 million cocaine seizure, largest in a decade
NYPD seizes 266 kg of cocaine worth $10 million in Queens, arresting a New Jersey man in what officials call the largest such bust in a decade.
New York police have announced the takedown of a major drug trafficking operation, resulting in the seizure of 266 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10 million. Officials described the bust as the NYPD's largest cocaine seizure in at least a decade.
The drugs were discovered Wednesday evening at a self-storage facility in Long Island City, Queens. Authorities said the cocaine, packaged in approximately 266 one-kilogram bricks, was found in boxes inside and outside a gray Nissan van at the facility.
Nelson Salcido, a 35-year-old resident of Englewood, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. He was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. The criminal complaint was filed by the office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
Investigators said the seizure followed a months-long investigation into an interstate trafficking network with connections in New York and New Jersey. Undercover officers allegedly observed Salcido handing boxes believed to contain cocaine to another suspect who remains at large. Two additional men have been arrested in connection with the alleged scheme.
Authorities believe the narcotics were routinely transported from the warehouse to the northern end of Central Park under the cover of darkness. Officials said the seizure prevented more than a quarter of a metric ton of cocaine from entering an illegal distribution network.
New Jersey Special Agent Towanda R. Thorne-James called the operation a good day for the public, citing the collaboration among law enforcement partners. The Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office described the seizure as its largest in over two decades.