Authorities say ‘massive load’ of cocaine seized in the Bronx came from Massachusetts
The over 135 pounds of cocaine seized by law enforcement officials in the Bronx last week came from Massachusetts, New York authorities said.
The New York Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office said the “massive load’’ was estimated to be worth up to $3 million.
Mark Soto, 23, and Xavier Herbert-Gumbs, 24, were arrested on Thursday within an hour of each other, following two separate vehicle searchers, authorities said. The prosecutor’s office said the two men were identified as “members of a major narcotics trafficking network’’ during an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security, with the involvement of detectives from the New York Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation Division.
Officials said Soto had about 26 pounds of cocaine in a rental car with Massachusetts license plates. Agents and detectives allegedly saw Soto get out of the car around 7:10 p.m. and spotted a “partially opened box that appeared to contain multiple kilograms of cocaine’’ in the vehicle’s trunk.
Earlier in the evening, agents and detectives said Herbert-Gumbs was a passenger in a car they stopped that was carrying a box with 110 pounds of cocaine, “pressed in brick-shaped packages marked with brand names.’’
Both Soto and Herbert-Gumbs were charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. They were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and bail was set at $400,000 cash or $200,000 bond for both men.
Attorney information for Soto and Herbert-Gumbs was not immediately available. Officials said the investigation is ongoing.
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