Connect with us

Headlines

Fake Jewelry Business Hid $2M Worth of Cocaine, Police Say

mm

Published

on

Authorities seized 121 pounds of the drug.

Police seized $2 million worth of cocaine from what they said was a fake jewelry business in New York’s Diamond District.

Junior Lopez-Pena, 26, of Haverstraw, NY, has been arrested and faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, according to a press release from New York’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

Authorities seized 121 pounds of cocaine from 21 Divine, a “fictitious jewelry business” operating in two suites at 43 W. 47th St. in Manhattan, according to the release.

Police said the drugs came from another “fictitious” jewelry business in Los Angeles called Sapphire.

Lopez-Pena was arrested as he attempted to exit the Divine 21 location after the delivery of three packages that investigators had deemed suspicious, according to the release. A New York Drug Enforcement Task Force group worked with the DEA Los Angeles Field Division on the case.

Lopez-Pena was in possession of keys to one of the suites, authorities said.

Advertisement

“This brazen trafficking scheme involved the delivery of 55 kilograms of cocaine to a bustling commercial center in Midtown Manhattan during broad daylight,” said Bridget G. Brennan, special narcotics prosecutor for New York. “By disrupting the supply chain and seizing $2 million in narcotics we undoubtedly saved lives.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said the cocain find “sets off alarms here in New York that Mexican drug trafficking organizations have increased efforts to funnel cocaine to New Yorkers.”

“Over the past two years, Colombian cocaine cultivation has dramatically increased, reaching record levels of production,” Hunt said. “New York drug law enforcement is on the forefront in shutting down traffickers’ efforts by seizing their loads and making arrests.”

Read the full press release

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular