Two Bronx men were recently arrested for allegedly having over 25 pounds of heroin, three guns, and ammunition, the Drug Enforcement Agency said in a release.
Harris Wilson Sanches, 54, and Hinguenbert Deleon, 36, were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first, third and seventh degrees, the release said. They were also charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree and third-degree possession of a firearm. Sanchez had been wanted since 2013 by U.S. Marshalls.
“Illegal drugs continue to threaten lives at record pace,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said. “As guns are continually recovered in our investigations, it is evidently clear that gun violence and drug trafficking are two public safety threats that go hand in hand. I applaud the NYC Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad-New York for their hard work to make our streets safer.”
Agents with the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad New York (TDS-NY) conducted a court-authorized search on Nov. 4 of an apartment in the Bronx neighborhood of North Rivendale. The search resulted in 13 packages in a bedroom closet that contained what was deemed to be heroin. It is estimated to have a street value of about $4 million, the release said.
The closet also contained three pistols, with one loaded, the DEA said. Also found in the apartment were a money counter, 200 cartridges of ammunition, and a ‘kilo press,’ which is used for packaging drugs.
Leading up to the search, agents and officers were surveilling the area. Teams allegedly saw Sanchez enter a 2021 Volkswagen Touareg SUV carrying a bag. Deleon was in the vehicle. Sanchez and Deleon drove off and the TDS-NY followed, but when they attempted to pull the vehicle over, it quickly sped away, the release said.
A warrant was obtained after it was suspected the location to be a drug stash location. Sanchez and Deleon returned and they were placed under arrest. Police found a set of keys on Sanchez that fit into the apartment key lock, according to the DEA.
“The crime and violence associated with narcotics is relentlessly investigated by the NYPD and its law enforcement partners, to prevent New Yorkers from becoming victims,” New York City Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said. “I commend our investigators and the prosecutors in the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City for their work in this case and for tirelessly fighting this scourge with every tool at our disposal.”
