Showing posts with label NYPD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYPD. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

176 LBS. OF COCAINE RECOVERED DURING INVESTIGATION BY BRONX DA, NYPD, HSI AND DEA; LARGEST COCAINE SEIZURE IN NYC IN RECENT YEARS


19 People Indicted for Trafficking Cocaine Sold In Bronx, And Club Drugs Sold At Nightspots Throughout City 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Raymond Donovan today announced that 19 people have been indicted on charges related to trafficking cocaine and club drugs in the city. During the investigation, 176 pounds of cocaine with a street value of almost $3 million were recovered. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “We will stop traffickers of any illicit drugs that devastate lives and neighborhoods. These defendants allegedly distributed large amounts of cocaine sold on the streets of the Bronx, and peddled dangerous ‘date rape’ drugs that wind up in bars and nightclubs. As always, I stand ready to work with my local and federal law enforcement partners to target drug dealers.” 

 Commissioner O’Neill said, “The NYPD, and its partners, are committed to eradicating drug trafficking in the City of New York. These are serious charges, and bringing those who commit these acts to justice is dangerous work. I commend the NYPD investigators, DEA Agents, Homeland Security Investigators, and the members of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their work in this significant case.”

 Special Agent in Charge Melendez said, “This is a case of street dealers joining forces to corner the market for cocaine on the street and in clubs around the city. This high profit business simply seeks to exploit the vulnerabilities of those addicted, while seeking new customers in the club scene. Removing this amount of cocaine off the streets reduces the number of potential overdoses by the thousands. Law enforcement understands the importance of removing these drug pushers from the community, and will continue to partner in investigations to arrest and prosecute those individuals.”

 Special Agent in Charge Donovan said, “This criminal network profited off the sale of cocaine and MDMA to mid-level drug traffickers, street dealers, and users throughout New York City. Illicit drug trends come and go, but in New York, heroin and cocaine have always been the headline drugs of choice. Ever since fentanyl hit the streets, traffickers have been creating their own trends. The mixture of heroin and fentanyl has become public health’s most potent enemy; and evident in recent statistics, the mixture of cocaine and fentanyl is following in its footsteps. Because of DEA intelligence, increased cocaine production in Colombia, and larger cocaine loads like the 80 kilograms seized in this case, New Yorkers should be warned that the cocaine of older times is deadlier today: CDC studies show that 40% of cocaine deaths in 2016 involved fentanyl. I applaud our law enforcement partners on their diligent work throughout this investigation.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendants are variously charged in three indictments totaling 227 counts of various degrees of Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy. Two of the defendants are charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker, which carries a minimum of 15-25 years to maximum of life in prison if convicted. Fourteen of the defendants were arrested in a takedown on May 1, 2019. Twelve have been arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice John Carter, two are awaiting arraignment and five have not been apprehended yet

 According to the year-long investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, NYPD Bronx Gang Squad, Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, the defendants trafficked large quantities of cocaine, which they sold in bulk to distributors, and which in turn was sold in $10 and $20 packets, sometimes in crack form, on Valentine Avenue between the Grand Concourse and East 187th Street.

 One indictment charges 10 people with the cocaine operation, with Alvon Pierre and Elvis Gomez charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker. On February 28, 2019, investigators seized 176 pounds (80 kilos) of cocaine in a vehicle and packed in suitcases in an apartment on 191st Street in Flushing, Queens that is connected to Pierre and co-defendant Robert Nieves. On December 31, 2018, in the Bronx, $135,000 was seized from a secret compartment in Gomez’ Saturn SUV.

 Another indictment charges five people with distributing MDMA (Ecstasy), Alprazolam (Xanax) and Ketamine. These controlled substances frequently turn up at clubs and nightspots throughout the city. According to the indictment, two of the defendants conspired to import pills from overseas, via international mail. Authorities in Brussels, Belgium intercepted 1.25 pounds of pure controlled substances before they could reach their destinations in the Bronx and Manhattan.

 District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Luke Maddock of the Bronx Gang Squad for his work in the investigation. 

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and is not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Defendants Arraigned 
Kaharey Jeffers, 26, Yonkers, N.Y. 
Devin Rivera, 19, Bronx 
Rafael Guerrero, 28, Bronx 
Benny Phillips, 27, Bronx 
Audy Monzon, 32, Bronx 
Robert Nieves, 41, Queens 
Alvin Pierre, 44, Queens
Jose Guity, 20, Bronx 
Michael Ortiz, 21, Bronx
Nicolas Beltre, 39, Manhattan 
Eladio Polanco, 21, Manhattan 
Kevin Aldebot, 25, Bronx

Not Arraigned Yet 
Jonathan Davila, 20, Bronx 
Shawn Wilson, 31, Bronx

Defendants Not Apprehended 
Elvis Gomez, 34, Bronx 
Frank Almanzar, 37, Manhattan 
Salathiel Mora, 39, Manhattan 
David Monet, 40, Queens 
Brandon Santaella, 21 Bronx

Thursday, June 15, 2017

21 MEN INDICTED IN MASSIVE CIGARETTE SMUGGLING SCHEME AFTER INVESTIGATION BY BRONX DA, NYPD, NYS TAX DEPT., HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS


Nearly 10,000 Cartons Seized, Alleged Tax Fraud is $20 Million Cheap Cigarettes Sold in Stores Citywide, Undercutting Law-Abiding Merchants 

  District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Nonie Manion today announced that a joint investigation has resulted in two indictments charging 21 men with trafficking hundreds of thousands of cartons of cigarettes from the South to New York City, evading more than $20 million in taxes and reaping millions of dollars in proceeds. 

   District Attorney Clark said, “This criminal enterprise not only allegedly cheated the state and city out of taxes, but undercuts mom-and-pop stores that serve our neighborhoods. Law-abiding businesses cannot compete with stores illegally selling untaxed, cheap cigarettes down the block. We want to extinguish this type of criminal activity, and we will pursue nearly $17 million in profits from the defendants.” 

  Commissioner O’Neill said, “Unraveling this fraud, both the smuggling of untaxed cigarettes and where the proceeds travel, is important to keeping our City safe. Thank you to the NYPD's Intelligence Bureau detectives and our partners whose work resulted in today's charges." 

   Acting Commissioner Nonie said, “Joining forces with our law enforcement partners, the Cigarette Strike Force helped take down this massive tobacco smuggling ring, part of our relentless effort to stop the flow of illegal cigarettes into New York. Those dealing in contraband cigarettes are stuffing their pockets at the expense of their local communities. We'll continue to work diligently to see that these criminals face justice."

  Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge, Angel M. Melendez said, “The alleged criminals in this case tried to circumvent New York state and city taxes by trafficking in cigarettes from other states for sale here. They later laundered those proceeds using local businesses as part of their scheme. It is because of law enforcement partnerships and through joint investigations that we were able to locate and arrest the players in this criminal organization and bring them to justice.” 

   District Attorney Clark said 13 of the defendants have been arrested since June 8, 2017 throughout the Bronx, Westchester and New Jersey; 12 of whom have been arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. They are due back in court on July 5, 2017. Others were arrested in Virginia and North Carolina and four remain at large. If convicted of the top count of the indictments, most of the defendants face 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

  In one indictment, 17 defendants are charged with Enterprise Corruption, and variously charged with first-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, second, third and fourth-degree Money Laundering, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax and fifth-degree Conspiracy. 

 The second indictment charges four defendants with first and second-degree Criminal Tax Fraud, second, third and fourth-degree Money Laundering, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax, fourth-degree Conspiracy.

  According to the 15-month investigation, the defendants purchased about 5,000 cartons of cigarettes a week in North Carolina and Virginia for about $50 per carton ($5 per pack) and drove them to the Bronx. A carton retails for about $130 in New York City. The defendants sold them to distributors who then sold them to bodegas and delis, where a pack of cigarettes sold for about $8 a pack, instead of $13. 

  The criminal enterprise included Shareef Moflehi, 30, Omar Jhury, 26, and Hector Rondon, 44. Saleh Ali Qasem, 34, was identified as the lead defendant in the second indictment. Investigators who went to Rondon’s Bronx home to arrest him found a trap door in the floor of his bedroom, leading to a crawlspace in the foundation of the house, where they found Rondon.

  District Attorney Clark also announced that her Office filed two civil forfeiture lawsuits against the defendants. The first is against Shareef Moflehi, et. al for $15,210,000.00, representing the proceeds of the defendants’ cigarette-based money laundering enterprise. Three houses which were used as instrumentalities of the crime or purchased with the illegal proceeds will be seized, including one in Mount Vernon, Westchester County purchased recently by Moflehi for $675,000 in cash. 

 The second lawsuit is against Saleh Ali Qasem, et al. for $1,757,945.00. This sum represents the proceeds of the defendants’ cigarette based money laundering operation. Two houses will be seized.

  District Attorney Clark thanked Assistant District Attorneys Mary Jo Blanchard, Counsel to the Investigations Division, and William Zelenka, Chief of the Economic Crimes Bureau for their assistance in this case, as well as Danielle Jackson, and Audrey Manaiza of the Investigations Division, and members of the NYPD DA Squad and Detective Investigators from her Office. 

  The civil action is being litigated by Assistant District Attorneys Cristina Paquette and Jennifer Shaw of the Asset Forfeiture Unit under the supervision of Lisa Waller, Deputy Chief of the Civil Litigation Bureau.

  District Attorney Clark also thanked the NYS Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division; the NYPD Intelligence Division, particularly Detectives Jonathan Dubroff and Joseph Petrosino, Sergeant Robert Byrne and Lieutenant Joseph Sullivan; Homeland Security Special Agent Abe Jardines, and Lieutenant Henry King of the Rocky Mount, NC Police Department. 

  An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

DEFENDANTS 
NOMAN ALBAHRI, 36, 1875 Gleason Ave, Bronx 
SAMIR HOSIN, 29, 98 Ridgewood Ave, Bronx 
OMAR JHURY, 26, 49 N. 10th Ave, Mount Vernon 
JAMAL KARKAT, 26, 1735 Hobart Ave, Bronx 
TAHIR KASTRATI, 50, 1723 Colden Ave, Bronx 
HECTOR RONDON, 44, 826 A Leland Ave, Bronx 
SHAREEF MOFLEHI, 30, 121 Stephens Ave, Bronx, & (recently) 369 Westchester Ave, Mount Vernon 
PAZAL MOHAMMED (AKA JOHN), 30, 28 Bobwhite Plain, Hicksville, NY 
ABRAHAM SHARHAN (AKA IBRAHIM), 34, 4165 Grace Ave, Bronx, 63 Sherwood Ave, Yonkers, NY 
YASSER SUFYAN (AKA MALIK), 31, 191 Bennett Ave, Yonkers, NY 
AMMAR SHAMAKH, 33, 101 Vincent Drive, Clifton, NJ 
NAGIB MOHAMED SHARIF ALI, 39, 3746 Riverside Drive, Raleigh, NC 
SHAHER DAHJAT DARI (AKA BOO BOO), 28, 1269 Waterloo Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 
MAEEN M. ALSAYIDI, 34, 11 East 2nd Street, Clifton, NJ 
OMAR NASSER, 22, 508 Woosdwalk Lane, Rocky Mount, NC 
ILYAS MAMUN, 47, 3459 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 
ABDUL WAHED SALIM (AKA AMIGO), 32, 207 Maddux Drive, Pikesville, NC 
SALEH ALI QASEM, 34, 1025 Underhill Ave, Bronx 
MOHAMED SIDI AMAR, 39, 300 Addison way, Petersburg, VA 
YAHI OULD CHEBIH, 36, 29 Craterwoods Court, Petersburg, VA 
TAHIR OULD ELY LEMINE, 39, 169 Craterwoods Court, Petersburg, VA