More than 26 pounds of cocaine and $3 million in cash is displayed after law enforcement conducted a drug raid in Norwood on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Photo courtesy NYC Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor
A 60-year-old Bronx man was arrested this week after officials recovered more than 26 pounds of cocaine and over $3 million in cash from his Norwood apartment in a raid.
The city’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor reported on March 22 that a department complaint accuses the man, Juan Rondon, of operating as a major drug trafficker — charging him with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. In Manhattan Criminal Court on March 21, Rondon — who was reportedly previously deported in 2006 — was held without bail.
“This investigation shows how lucrative the cocaine trafficking business can be,” said NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan. “Over a span of years, an accused major trafficker apparently squirreled away more than $3 million, filling secret compartments inside furniture to the brim with bundles of cash wrapped together in rubber bands, expensive watches, and kilograms of cocaine.”
Officials arrested Rondon on March 20 after a two-month, multiple-agency investigation.
According to the special narcotics office, officials observed Rondon outside of 3405 Gates Place in Norwood on March 20 entering the building with a bag, then exiting with the same bag, then returning empty handed. Later, investigators stopped him in the building’s lobby and reported he was in possession of cocaine and the keys to apartment 2A.
Officials conducted a court-authorized search of Rondon’s apartment and apparently found many pieces of furniture rigged with “secret trap compartments” — including dressers, nightstands and a coffee table — stuffed with cash, cocaine and even luxury watches, according to the special narcotics office.
Brennan…
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