THE BRONX — Three Bronx men who helped run a large-scale heroin and cocaine dealing operation with connection to the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico have been arrested, officials said Thursday.
Robert “Forty-Five” Peralta, 33, Fernando “El Tio” Rodriguez, 35, and Wilton “Winston Marte” Gutierrez, 36, were indicted and charged with conspiracy and drug possession.
The three were allegedly part of an international drug smuggling ring spearheaded in the U.S. by Luisito Colon Pagan, 40, of North Carolina, according to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. They were brought down after a yearlong wire-tap investigation that began in fall 2014 and ended with the seizure of about 30 pounds of heroin in Arkansas on April 17, officials said.
Investigators discovered Pagan was arranging for multi-kilogram shipments of drugs from Mexico — including two shipments totaling 11 kilograms of cocaine, authorities said.
Investigators saw the operation start to unravel when the Bronx crew failed to collect payment from a customer and ended up owing their Mexican supplier $127,000, officials said.
Pagan blamed the failure on Peralta, his primary New York distributor, who didn't get the cash after a January cocaine deal.
The New York Drug Enforcement Task Force then busted Peralta on Feb. 3 when he tried to deliver 300 grams of heroin to a Pennsylvania customer.
After his arrest, Pagan allegedly plotted to kidnap Peralta’s brother in the Dominican Republic to get ransom money from Peralta’s relatives. The plot was put on hold when the would-be kidnappers spotted two men armed with shotguns at the brother’s home.
Investigators continued to track Peralta’s Ford Edge, which he loaned to members of their Mexican suppliers.
Agents found the vehicle parked inside a private garage in Little Rock, Arkansas and got a search warrant on April 17.
They found the Ford inside as well as a Honda Element. A K-9 unit smelled narcotics in the Honda, according to officials, and they found 13 kilograms of heroin inside the vehicle.
Pagan and Peralta were expected to be arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday on conspiracy and drug possession charges.
Agents also busted Mexican national Moises Leyva-Lugo, 26, in Hunts Point in February for allegedly carry narcotics proceeds from New York to Mexico. Leyva-Lugo was found with $200,000 in cash in a carry-on bag.
Investigators then searched an apartment Leyva-Lugo was seen leaving and found an additional $550,000 in cash.
Westchester-based crewmember Carlos Delacruz, 42, was also charged with conspiracy.
“As a result of this investigation, a major drug trafficking network that distributed narcotics in the Northeast has been dismantled and 30 pounds of heroin never made it to the streets,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said.
