NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Officials recovered over 100 pounds of suspected cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone with an estimated value of $4 million from a Bronx pizzeria last week, authorities announced Monday.
This seizure occurred at Mexzzarella Pizza at 553 Soundview Ave. in the Soundview section of the Bronx, located directly across from an elementary public school, PS 69.
Following an investigation, officers arrested Gaudencio Rosendo Perez, 47, Zulema Cardenas Espinoza, 53, and Alexander Samboy, 45, on Thursday, October 18, and were arraigned on Friday, October 20, in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Perez, Espinoza, and Samboy were charged with operating as a major trafficker, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees.
At approximately 10:15 a.m. on October 19, officers conducted surveillance on Soundview Avenue and observed Perez and Espinoza driving a blue Hyundai sedan and parked in front of the pizzeria shop and unlock and open the doors to the location.
Espinoza was observed removing a shopping bag that appeared weighted from the rear of the blue sedan and bringing the bag into the pizza shop.
At approximately 12:07 p.m., surveillance teams observed Samboy walking on Soundview Avenue carrying what appeared to be an empty black and blue North Face backpack and entered the pizza shop.
At approximately 12:20 p.m., surveillance units observed Samboy exit the location carrying the same type and color backpack that now appeared to be heavily weighted.
Samboy walked to a silver Subaru Impreza with Connecticut license plates and placed the backpack inside the rear passenger seat.
Mobile surveillance units followed Samboy and at 12:25 p.m. a vehicle stop was conducted in front of 788 Metcalf Ave. where officers recovered five kilograms of suspected cocaine. The kilograms were wrapped in black tape with blue and white label that read "R2".
Surveillance units that remained at Mexzzarella Pizza observed Perez exit 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.
Task force officers approached Perez and Espinoza, identified themselves and detained them.
At approximately 5:45 p.m. agents and task force officers conducted a search of Mexzzarella Pizza, where 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 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.
The results of DEA laboratory analysis on the narcotics seized are pending.
"This drug trafficking organization was cooking up more than pizza in the Bronx. 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," DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said.
