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Cops seized 24 kilos of heroin and 9 kilos of cocaine
when they busted Edualin Tapia and Guillermo Esteban Margarin.
Photo: Supplied
New York authorities crushed an $11 million heroin and cocaine ring after they caught Bronx smugglers delivering an illegal stash to a Connecticut drug den, law enforcement sources said Monday.
Investigators from the NYPD, Drug Enforcement Agency and New York State Police busted Edualin Tapia and Guillermo Esteban Margarin with 24 kilos of heroin, 9 kilos of cocaine and three guns, including two assault rifles, at a Hartford apartment building, sources said.
The May 16 takedown was the culmination of a six-month probe spearheaded by the city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, who noted that the 50 pounds of heroin and 20 pounds of cocaine were bound for distribution throughout Connecticut and areas north of the state.
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Two assault rifles, a pistol and a money counter were seized during the bust.Photo: Supplied
“These arrests cut a pipeline moving huge amounts of heroin from New York City to the Northeast,” Brennan said. “Through cases like this one, we strive to cut off the supply of heroin as its source. Suppressing the availability of heroin, which is destroying an increasing number of lives, is a top priority.”
On May 15, investigators were keeping an eye on a suspected “heroin mill” — an apartment building on Orloff Avenue in The Bronx — when Tapia and Margarin showed up and walked inside with suitcases and a white box, authorities said.
The next day, officers got a tip that a Jeep Cherokee driven by Margarin and an Acura RDX commandeered by Tapia were heading north on Interstate 95.
They followed the vehicles into Hartford to the rear parking lot of an apartment building at 24 Bulkeley Ave., officials said.
After the dealers got out of their cars, Tapia allegedly grabbed a heavy white box from the Cherokee and slinked toward the building.
Undercover cops walked past Tapia, spotted 10 kilos of heroin in brick-shaped packages and signaled for backup, officials said.
An army of cops then descended on an apartment, finding several individuals at a sink frantically trying to dump a white, powdery substance down the drain with water running.
They seized 13 kilos of heroin in an open closet in the back of the apartment.
Authorities also executed warrants at several other locations and confiscated pounds of heroin and cocaine as well as two assault rifles and a handgun. Tens of thousands of dollars in cash were also recovered.
Margarin and Tapia were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy.
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