By Daniel Arimborgo
Police last week shut down an alleged Queens drug distribution ring, seizing 15 pounds of heroin with a street value of up to $2.5 million, the Queens district attorney and the Police Department said. Two Astoria men and one woman from Rhode Island were arrested.
The sophisticated Queens operation, allegedly run by two cousins, used a hydraulic press to compress heroin into hockey puck-sized tablets, the DA’s office said.
Arrested were Carlos Meneses, 57, of 23-05 30th Ave.; his cousin Jaime, 53, of 32-06 47 St.; and Reverly Brown, 39, of Providence, R.I., according to the district attorney.
The cousins were charged with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Jaime Meneses was also charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison, the DA said.
Reverly Brown was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree, the DA said. All three could face up to life in prison if convicted
The DA’s office said detectives assigned to the Queens Narcotics District had Carlos Meneses’ home under surveillance. Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said Brown allegedly bought heroin from Jaime Meneses at a rendezvous on Northern Boulevard.
Narcotics detectives followed Jaime Meneses after he drove from his cousin’s house to Northern Boulevard and 58th Street, where he met with Brown who was waiting in another car, according to the DA’s office. After the alleged transaction was completed, police stopped both cars, recovering $6,000 from the cousins and 3 ounces of very high quality heroin from Brown, said Kerik.
Police then obtained search warrants for both cousins’ homes, said Queens DA Richard Brown. At Jaime Meneses’ home, detectives recovered 3 kilos, or over 6 pounds, of heroin and the hydraulic press, the DA said. At Carlos Meneses’ home, an additional 4 kilos of heroin hidden in a false bottom of a suitcase and $47,000 in cash were found, Richard Brown said.
“I hope that those who come to Queens to buy drugs to take back to their home cities take a lesson from this case,” DA Brown said.
Kerik said in a statement “this case demonstrates that even with all the inroads the NYPD has made in fighting drug trafficking, there are still individuals willing to take the big risk of dealing here, in order to net the big profits.”
Kerik added that 15 pounds of heroin not only jeopardized individuals but entire communities, and he commended prosecutors and officers involved in the case for “the many lives they have saved” and for “taking these dealers and their drugs out of circulation.”
Reach reporter Daniel Arimborgo by e-mail at timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300 ext. 141.
