Diamond District Drug Bust: $2 Million In Cocaine Seized From Fake Jewelry Store

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Diamonds aren't the only expensive commodity being sold on West 47th Street. Fifty-five kilograms of cocaine, worth $2 million, was seized from a phony Diamond District jewelry business which turned out to be a front for a narcotics smuggling ring, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York announced Friday.

Agents from the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force raided 21 Divine, located on West 48th street near Sixth Avenue, on Thursday after staking the business out and witnessing an alleged drug drop, prosecutors told Patch. One man, 26-year-old Junior Lopez-Pena, was arrested leaving the building after the drug drop and has been charged with criminal drug possession, prosecutors said.

"This brazen trafficking scheme involved the delivery of 55 kilograms of cocaine to a bustling commercial center in Midtown Manhattan during broad daylight. By disrupting the supply chain and seizing $2 million in narcotics we undoubtedly saved lives," Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said in a statement.

The state task force and the Los Angeles field division of the Drug Enforcement Administration set their trap in place on Wednesday after identifying three suspicious packages being sent to 21 Divine from a known Los Angeles-based drug front, another fake jewelry business called Sapphire, prosecutors said.

After Lopez-Pena was taken into custody, state task force agents searched 21 Divine's premises and recovered the 55 kilograms (121 pounds) of cocaine, prosecutors told Patch. An automatic money counter was also seized from the fake jewelry store, prosecutors said.

DEA Special Agent James J. Hunt stated that the coast-to-coast drug operation is a sign that Mexican drug cartels may be trying to proliferate the streets of New York City with cocaine.

Detectives from the NYPD also assisted the state and federal agents in the investigation, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.

"Despite deliberate efforts to conceal a coast-to-coast drug operation through a phony business front, these alleged drug dealers were taken down through the relentless investigative efforts of NYPD detectives and our federal partners in the joint Drug Enforcement Task Force," O’Neill said in a statement.

Photo by Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor