NYPD seizes 266 kg of cocaine worth $10 mln, largest haul in a decade

Police in New York City made history by seizing 266 kilograms of cocaine, valued at approximately $10 million, from a facility in Queens. This marked the department's largest cocaine haul in at least a decade, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The operation unfolded on Wednesday when investigators intercepted a Nissan van near the Long Island City facility after observing boxes being loaded onto it.

Upon a thorough search, 19 boxes were discovered, each containing roughly one kilogram of the illicit drug. Tisch emphasized that "more than a quarter of a metric ton of cocaine" had been on the verge of infiltrating an illicit distribution network.

The seizure, described by Tisch as the department's largest in over a decade, resulted in the arrest of three individuals. Nelson Salcedo, a 35-year-old from Englewood, New Jersey, was charged with first- and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday. The Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office hailed this seizure as the largest in over two decades.

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Lisa Tompkins highlighted the gravity of the drug problem, stating that cocaine is implicated in more than half of all overdose deaths in New York City, often in combination with fentanyl or other substances. A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official disclosed that the investigation traced its origins to a cartel, and authorities anticipate additional arrests and seizures in the future.