Police authorities in New York City announced the arrest of three men in an alleged drug smuggling operation and described the elaborate steps the men allegedly took to conceal the drugs. The police also seized $4.1 million in cash and 6 pounds of heroin. The three suspects were charged with several federal drug offenses.
Investigators spent several hours watching the three suspects moving pieces of furniture into and out of a storage facility in the Bronx. Authorities said that the men are believed to have smuggled drugs across state lines by hiding the contraband in hidden compartments inside pieces of furniture. The police alleged that the three men were smuggling the drugs from Texas to New York City and Lawrence, MA. Police also suspect that the three defendants were intending to smuggle the cash proceeds of the drug sales back to Texas using the same pieces of hollow furniture.
Police also described steps allegedly taken to conceal the drugs from police K-9 investigators. A bottle of fox urine was found in one of the involved vehicles; the urine is sprayed or poured on the heroin to disguise its odor. A child’s tricycle was added to the furniture assortment, presumably to make the load appear as if it belonged to a family moving to a new city. The three suspects were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees.
Despite the seriousness of the charges in this case, the three suspects are entitled to be presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Anyone facing similar charges may wish to consult an experienced criminal defense attorneys for an analysis of the facts and law that apply to the case and for an estimate of the likelihood of obtaining a favorable plea agreement or an outright acquittal.
Source: KTLA-5, N.Y. Smugglers Found With $4.1 Million in Cash
