Police find nearly 30 pounds of cocaine, $3M in NYC apartment

New York City officials confiscated over 26 pounds of cocaine and $3 million in cash from a Bronx apartment, according to a Friday release from Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan. The drugs were allegedly concealed around the apartment in “hidden trap compartments.” Police arrested 60-year-old Juan Rondon, who now faces charges of operating as a major trafficker and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Authorities say Rondon was previously deported in 2006 and is now being held without bail. The bust came after two months of investigation by several law enforcement entities.

What kind of secret compartments? Investigators searched the apartment last week with a New York State Police K9 Unit and found secret trap compartments in several pieces of furniture. “Dressers, nightstands, and a coffee table contained large hidden compartments stuffed with bags of cash,” the release read. Investigators allegedly found the cocaine hidden in the coffee table and nearly a dozen luxury watches stashed away in a nightstand. Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark referred to Rondon as “a major regional drug distributor.”

The bust comes less than two weeks after investigators say they seized 38 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine from a luxury apartment building in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Police also allegedly found over $27,000 in cash, along with a Mexican passport and voter card. According to authorities, an expired U.S. visa was also seized, along with a Colorado driver's license and a U.S. passport. Two men were arrested during the search and seizure. Investigators estimate the 30 pounds of meth and over 8 pounds of cocaine have a street value of $1.1 million.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report on a New York jury convicting Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo.’