Law enforcement seizes $900k worth of cocaine in packages across New York City

Three people were arrested for allegedly using UPS package delivery services to smuggle large amounts of cocaine into New York City.

Two separate investigations were conducted by a host of law enforcement officials, including special agents with the DEA, NYPD officers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

They uncovered a combined total of 30 kilograms of cocaine, which is more than 66 pounds, in July in Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to a statement. 

The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York named Joshua Vargas, Tyrone Watts and Ines Zouiche as suspects. 

During the first investigation, law enforcement found two UPS packages of cocaine that were shipped to a building in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. One had 11 kilograms of the drug, and the other had eight kilograms. 

They were flagged as suspicious at a UPS facility in Queens after a K9 sniffed out the drugs.

An undercover officer posing as a UPS driver saw Vargas, 35, outside the building where the packages were being shipped, prosecutors said. The officer asked Vargas if one of the packages was his, and Vargas said yes. But the package had a name other than his on it, according to prosecutors. 

The officer arrested him, and he is facing numerous charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance and attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.

In a separate investigation, law enforcement officials identified a package containing 11 kilograms of cocaine shipped from California to a UPS Store in Manhattan's Kips Bay.

Agents and officers said they saw Zouiche, 36, receive the package inside a store on Third Avenue. They arrested her as she left and found a forged Delaware driver's license on her, prosecutors said.

Before Zouiche went inside the store, agents said they saw Watts, 35, circling the block in a car. Investigators stopped Watts after Zouiche's arrest and said they found a bag with $4,000 in cash, a vial of cocaine and two more forged licenses.

Prosecutors also said there were two children in the car during the incident. 

They are both facing charges including criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

"Drug traffickers will exploit any means possible to move their poison, including the use of legitimate package delivery services that millions of Americans rely on every day," said DEA Agent Christopher Roberts.  

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said the city's supply of cocaine is on the rise. It is especially dangerous because it's frequently mixed with lethal opioids and other synthetic drugs, she said.