Jan. 28, 2016 By Michael Florio
Police busted two men on Tuesday night who were driving around Jackson Heights with 100 pounds of heroin concealed in a pickup truck, according to authorities.
The men, both Guatemalan natives, were caught in possession of heroin near the intersection of Northern Boulevard and 84th Street Tuesday night.
They have been identified as Peter Omar Garcia-Romero, a North Carolina resident, and Jose Guadencio Lantan-Vela, who entered the U.S. on a travel visa on Jan. 15, according to authorities.
DEA special agents, NYPD detectives and New York State Police investigators were conducting surveillance in the area as part of an ongoing investigation into a heroin distribution network.
The agents noticed a blue pickup truck and a silver pickup truck driving slowly in tandem, towing a hitch trailer. Both vehicles had North Carolina plates, with one vehicle unregistered.
The authorities approached the men at about 8:45 pm and identified themselves.
A dog search was conducted and officers were alerted to the presence of drugs in the silver pickup, according to officials. A search warrant was then executed and both vehicles were thoroughly inspected.
Heroin was found concealed within the car axle casing in the bed of the silver pick-up truck.
The authorities then dissembled the axle into three parts and the heroin was found in the axle and the drive shaft casings.
The heroin was pressed into round shapes to fit in the axle casing and packaged in square shapes to fit in the drive shaft, officials said
The DEA estimated that the black market value of the drugs is at least $14 million dollars.
