Rockland aids in NYC drug bust which could cut off flow into Lower Hudson Valley
A New York City drug bust involving Rockland District Attorney's Office investigators potentially cuts into the flow of drugs into the county and lower Hudson Valley, officials said Tuesday.
A federal-led task force seized more than 100 pounds of cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and heroin from a Bronx pizzeria used as a front for a regional drug destruction ring. Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at $4 million.
The drug seizure and arrests of the ringleaders occurred at Mexzzarella Pizza in the Soundview section of the Bronx. The case involved the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. New York Police Department, New York State Police, and local law enforcement.
"This drug trafficking organization was cooking up more than pizza in the Bronx," DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said.
Tarentino said "the large stash of cocaine found in the basement of Mexzzarella Pizza is very significant because it had the potential to supply drug networks throughout the Northeast."
He said cocaine laced with fentanyl has contributed to the poisonings and deaths in New York and across the country.
Rockland District Attorney's Office public information officer Scott Waters said much of the drugs sold in Rockland and the lower Hudson Valley originate from drug operations in New York City.
The Rockland Drug Task Force has investigated drug activities in the county and worked with state and federal agencies.
Rockland District Attorney Thomas Walsh said the multiple arrests and drug seizures resulted from "multiple law enforcement agencies working together to clean our neighborhoods of these deadly substances."
Three people charged in drug bust
A criminal complaint filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor charged three people: Gaudencio Rosendo Perez, Zulema Cardenas Espinoza, and Alexander Samboy.
They were charged with felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. Following their arrests on Oct. 18, Perez, charged as a major drug trafficker, was remanded without bail, and Espinoza and Samboy faced bail of $150,000.
The investigation involved surveillance of the pizzeria and the people arrested.
What agents seized from pizzeria
DEA agents and task force officers conducted a search of Mexzzarella Pizza. seizing 42 kilograms of suspected cocaine, one kilogram of heroin/fentanyl, 1,000 glassine envelopes containing suspected oxycodone and fentanyl, large rocks of cocaine, a kilo press, and approximately $40,000 from the basement.
Agents and officers also recovered 100 vials of suspected crack cocaine and a yellow powdery substance on the ground floor. The vials were stored near the pizza counter for convenient sales or to provide samples to the customers.
Drug deaths from overdoses and poisonings
According to the news release, the Centers for Disease Control has estimated that 111,797 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and poisonings in 2022, with almost 70 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Drug deaths from opioids have increased in Rockland County. In 2021, Rockland reported 70 overdose deaths. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District recently charged Justin Turnick of Clarkstown with distributing fentanyl that resulted in six overdoses, including multiple deaths.
Meanwhile, 3,026 people fatally overdosed in New York City alone in 2022, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Only two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYC drug bust could cut off flow into Rockland, Lower Hudson area
