Police find 30 pounds of cocaine and $3 million in secret compartments in NYC apartment

NEW YORK (AP) — Law enforcement officials found nearly 30 pounds of cocaine and $3 million in cash stashed in secret compartments throughout a New York City apartment used by a major cocaine distributor, the city Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor said Friday.

A 60-year-old man was arrested on March 20 after investigators found cash, drugs and luxury watches stuffed inside furniture in an apartment in the Bronx, the agency said.

Investigators using police dogs found dressers, nightstands and a coffee table that were retrofitted with large hidden compartments where currency was wrapped in bundles and labeled with dates going back several years.

The arrest followed a two-month investigation that included state and city police and officials from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Officials say they had been conducting surveillance when they observed the suspect enter and exit the building several times with a bag. When officers stopped him, they found he had cocaine, prompting a search of the apartment.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said the drug den did not have any extra security or surveillance system, despite being used to sell cocaine to wholesale distributors in the New York City area as well as other parts of the Northeast and the Midwest.

“This investigation shows how lucrative the cocaine trafficking business can be,” Bridget Brennan, the city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, said in a statement.

The suspect, who was previously deported in 2006, was charged with operating as a major trafficker and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Friday.

A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing the man, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.