Drug bust nets $2M in meth, heroin

By Dan Rivoli

dan.rivoli@am-ny.com

Nearly 20 pounds of meth and heroin worth more than $2 million were recovered in a bust that netted three accused drug traffickers, prosecutors said Monday.

Most of the drugs were recovered in a Corona, Queens, stash house April 9 after investigators observed the trio allegedly making a drug deal in the Bronx.

Prosecutors say investigators followed Miguel Mercado-Guelen and Henry Nunez from the stash house to the East 212th Street and Dekalb Avenue intersection in the Bronx, where they handed off a black bag to Diego Estevez. Estevez was on foot when investigators stopped him and seized the bag, which contained three kilos of heroin.

At the alleged stash house in Corona, investigators found an additional 1.5 kilos of heroin and four kilos of crystal meth in smokable form in a dresser with a hidden compartment. The meth had a street value of $960,000.

"Methamphetamine is a homegrown product for Mexican cartels. Clearly they are trying to promote the use and addiction to crystal meth here in New York City," said Bridget Brennan, the special narcotics prosecutor.

Mercado-Guelen was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday, with bail set at $750,000. Estevez and Nunez were arraigned in the first week of May. All three have pleaded not guilty.